In a rare show of unity, officials of the giant Dockworkers Union (DWU) said they are not ready to sit back and watch as the operations of the port of Mombasa are handed over to a few private investors in the country.
DWU Secretary General Simon Sang on Wednesday demanded the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) to cancel a tender awarded to a firm associated with a Mombasa legislator.
Sang said they are opposed to privatization of port facilities and labour.
He pointed out it is a conflict of interest to allow a lawmaker who chairs a national assembly watchdog committee to invest at the port of Mombasa.
He said the same firm associated with the Mombasa legislator was awarded a tender to conduct verification of goods and cargo at the inland container depot (ICD) in Nairobi.
Speaking at a press conference in Mombasa Sang said the firm has a contract to hire labour at the port of Mombasa, the Nairobi ICD and at the Lamu port.
The DWU secretary general insisted the awarding of the tender to the lawmaker is the highest form of corruption at the port and should be condemned.
Sang who was accompanied by union chairman Mohamed Sheria told journalists they are being taken in circles in regard to port privatization issues.
He added that the operations at one of the berths within the port have already been privatized and the tender given to a politically correct individual in the county.
