No South Sudan cargo pile up at Mombasa - agents

Nairobi – The Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (Kifwa) has dismissed reports that there is a crisis over South Sudan transit cargo pile up in Mombasa.

Sunday, January 12, 2014
Containers of goods at Mombasa. Agents have dismissed reports of South Sudan cargo pile up. Net photo.

Nairobi – The Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (Kifwa) has dismissed reports that there is a crisis over South Sudan transit cargo pile up in Mombasa.This follows reports that tonnes of imported goods destined for South Sudan  are congesting the port and container freight stations in Mombasa.The slow movement of cargo is said to have been caused by the ongoing conflict in the country. There has been a standoff between South Sudan president Salva Kiir’s government and his ex-deputy Riek Machar, which has affected business and displaced thousands of people.  Roy Mwanthi, the Kifwa Mombasa branch chairman, said South Sudan cargo in Mombasa is still manageable. "At the moment, the cargo is manageable. Transit is still on although slow. So, there is no need for alarm,” said Mwanthi. Kifwa said hardware cargo is moving to South Sudan without interference. Many truckers are said to have withdrawn from transporting cargo to the crisis-hit country. Last year, about 11.6 per cent of South Sudan bound cargo went through Mombasa.