The Kenya Maritime Authority has called for the suspension of the solid waste management charges that Kenya Ports Authority intends to impose on ships calling at the Port of Mombasa.
Last month, KPA announced that from May 15, shipping lines will be required to pay $2 (Sh260) per one hundred tonnes based on a ship's gross registered tonnage, as waste management charges for marine vessels.
The minimum charge on a ship shall be $200 (Sh26,000), while the maximum charge has been set at $1,500 (Sh196,500) for every seven days.
However, KPA said ships owned or operated by the government, ships owned or operated by the KPA, ships of less than 500 gross registered tonnage, ships trading between ports in Kenya and authorised ferries would be exempt from the charge.
Others are dredgers whose ordinary course of navigation does not exceed the port limit and vessels at stream or anchorage.
The Mombasa County Solid Waste Management (Amendment) Act, 2023, mandates the county government of Mombasa to levy charges for solid waste management on ships that dock at the Port of Mombasa.
However, KMA, a regulator of the maritime industry, said there was no stakeholder involvement in imposing the new charges on waste management.
KMA is empowered to review tariff proposals preferred upon maritime service providers against the service rendered to avoid unclear or duplex charges that may lead to increased costs of doing business.
In a letter dated May 9, 2024, to KPA managing director Captain William Ruto, KMA director general Eng Martin Dzombo said the methodology used to arrive at the preferred charges remains unknown and unsupported.
“We note that the methodology used to arrive at the preferred charges remains unknown, unsupported and further provides confusion in terms of whether it includes those already paid for waste collection providers,” Dzombo said.
Already, ships have been paying for garbage collection to waste collectors who have been licenced by the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) and KPA.
The practice is that ships pay for the service based on the quantity and type of waste to be discharged.
The shipping agent arranges with a Nema-licenced waste transporter, and then the shipping agent is invoiced according to the service rendered.
KMA said the new charges being imposed by Mombasa county are not linked to any specific services that the county will provide.
He said Article 196 of the Constitution requires reasonable and meaningful public participation with respect to proposals from the county government.
Despite KMA writing to Mombasa county in regards to the new proposal, highlighting concerns from the stakeholders, they never responded.
“KMA wrote to the county government of Mombasa intimating the challenges in the introduction of the charges payable by a ship that docks in Mombasa, and a proposal for consideration. It was hoped that a dialogue would ensue to ensure an appropriate, clear framework is legislated on. To date, KMA has not received any response," Dzombo said.
KMA called for immediate suspension of the notice issued and invited KPA, Nema and the Mombasa government to deliberate on the matter for a sustainable resolution.