CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by James Pod, Kenya, July 1998
THEME = TRANSPORT
In addition to Kenya's popular reputation
for it's institutionalised corruption and instigated political violence,
the government has acquired a new certificate for neglect and inefficiency
Kenya's entire infrastructure is in a sorry state and the Mombasa road is a perfect symbol of neglect. The current state of the road is appalling. It's an understatement to refer to it as a bad road - in most sections, there's just no road at all!
In January 1998, a landslide at Mikindani corner along the road heralded trouble, and days later, for the first time in recent memory, the road which is regarded as East Africa's umbilical cord was severed. Five people died in what was now dubbed the "highway of death", some in kilometre-long traffic jams and tailbacks. At the end of January 1998, the road was finally closed.
Kambu river bridge was the first to collapse. Then came Thange bridge followed by Thuti bridge between Emali and Masimba a week later. Months after these events, even in dry weather, most of the road between Changamwe to Emali is all but impassable. A light downpour renders it completely unusable.
It's not just a question of bad maintenance. As an international trunk road, it certainly does not come up to international standards. In parts it's so narrow that two trucks going in opposite directions can't pass each other. The hard shoulder and edges of the road have been worn away by trucks swerving sideways in order to overtake, thus undermining the road's very foundations.
The road's surface rivals any other in the country in terms of number and sheer size of the potholes. Apart from the potholes, large chunks of the road are missing. On average, it takes 11 to 15 hours to drive the 500km from Mombasa to Nairobi in a small car. A heavily-laden truck takes three days.
A combination of the large number of heavy trucks, the poor surface of the road and it's narrow width, makes the Nairobi-Mombasa road potentially one of the most dangerous in this part of Africa. Despite a visit by the minister of public works, Kipkamya Kones, not much seems to be going on by way of useful repairs. The dirt track diversions and temporary bridges are still in use, and the roadside is dotted with mounds of earth mixture being used to seal the potholes. "Seal" is perhaps a misnomer because in a couple of days the heavy trucks and buses succeed in digging out the earth.
There were reports in January that the World Bank had agreed to give the government $50 million to repair part of the road. In February, a European Union delegation announced it would loan the government 6 million shillings for the repair of the Sultan Hamud- Mtito Andei stretch. There were also reports that the tender for the repairs had already been awarded.
Truth to say, it would be better to start again and rebuild the road.
But why is this road so important? Mombasa is one of the most important ports this side of Africa with breathtaking potential. The port could serve up to 300 million people in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). It handled 6.8 million tonnes of cargo in the first ten months of 1997, a significant drop from 8.7 million tonnes the previous year. The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) managing director, Lenny Mwangola said that more than 70% of the imports from the port are transported by road. Therefore, a minimum of 6 million tonnes of goods travel the Mombasa road every year.
Mombasa port handled 2.8 million tonnes of transit cargo in 1996, 1.2 million tonnes destined for Ug-anda, 700,000 for Rwanda and 280,000 for Congo RDC. Only 30% of this cargo in transit is normally transported by Kenya Railways and Uganda Railways. The rest is trucked up country.
By April 1998, according to KPA, only 20%-22% of the cargo was being transported inland by road, due to the fact that either the road was closed or barely passable. And since the percentage of cargo transported by rail also declined to between 15%-20%, most of the cargo piled up at the port causing congestion, delaying ships and hence resulting into losses all round.
The World Bank is continually insisting with the government to privatise port operations at Mombasa. The Bank argues that greater efficiency at the port will significantly improve the government's revenue and consequently reduce dependency on borrowing.
However, there can be no real efficient handling of goods at the port if it costs too much to forward cargo to its final destination. The assumption now is that as the Nairobi-Mombasa road link deteriorates, many importers and exporters will seek alternative routes and ports.
As it is, current figures show a marked decline in both total cargo and transit cargo handled at the port of late.
In 1995, the Preferential Trade Area for Eastern and Southern Africa (PTA) region for the very first time bought more Kenyan exports than the European Union. Let's look at some 1995 figures: Uganda consumed the largest share of Kenyan exports - 12.7%; the U.K. 11.6%; Tanzania 10.6%; Germany 7.8%. All these goods have to be transported to and from Mombasa so this means investment in the Mombasa-Kampala highway is an absolute priority. A breakdown on the road does not merely cost money for business, it undermines the long-term trade prospects and benefits for Kenya.
Overall, the pathetic state of the Nairobi-Mombasa highway (and on to Kampala), Kenya's most important road, is very worrying. This is not merely because it is the key export/import route and economic lifeline for Kenya and her significant trading partner Uganda and other countries further afield, but also because that road plays an important role in regional integration.
END
CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
PeaceLink 1998 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement