Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The Minister of Transport, Rizik Zachariah Hassan, has discussed with Kenyan authorities the reduction of container deposit fees imposed on South Sudanese imports through the Port of Mombasa.
Minister Hassan told SSBC this week that the government is pushing to lower the deposit fee from $5,000 to $1,500 and to extend the grace period for returning empty containers to 45 days.
He raised the matter during a meeting in Mombasa with the Director General of the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA), Justus Omae Nyarandi.
According to Minister Hassan, the visit to Mombasa aimed to assess challenges faced by South Sudanese traders using the Kenyan port.
“We are here based on our mandate to come and assess and evaluate and see how the CSF South Sudan has been managed here and operating in Mombasa as well as to craft out the challenges but we are here with his excellency the governor,” said Minister Hassan during a recent visit to the Kenyan port city.
For his part, the KMA Director General, Nyarandi, said there is a need to align South Sudan’s container deposit fees with international standards.
“How to reduce the container deposits from 5,000 to what other countries actually pay which is around $1,500. Because we regulate the shipping industry, we have agreed on the efforts that we are doing make sure to satisfy all stakeholders. The effort we are to make today with the minister and the honourable ambassador here,” said Nyarandi.
The Port of Mombasa serves as the main transit route for South Sudan-bound cargo, handling about 1.1 million tonnes annually.
South Sudan accounts for 9.9% of this transit, making it the port’s second-largest client after Uganda. The port also handles shipments to eastern DRC, Rwanda, and Burundi.
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