Cabinet Secretary (CS), Mining and Blue Economy, Hassan Ali Joho, has announced a decisive plan to reclaim public landing sites that have been illegally grabbed, a problem he described as a significant menace in the blue economy sector.
Speaking at the Kenya Maritime Authority headquarters in Mombasa, Joho emphasised that the government, in collaboration with the county authorities, is committed to addressing the challenge by demolishing any personal properties that encroach on these vital sites.
This effort, he said, is part of a broader strategy to ensure the sustainability and integrity of the blue economy, which is crucial for the livelihoods of many coastal communities.
“The government will soon issue a legal notice to anyone occupying these landing sites illegally; hence, I call upon landing site grabbers to begin getting rid of any personal property along these areas. This call especially goes to the land grabbers within the beach area stretching from Kiunga to Lungalunga,” reiterated the CS.
In addition, he explained that this comes in the government’s effort to provide fishermen with their right to a docking area for their boats in the 46 landing sites in Mombasa County as well as those in other regions.
Furthermore, the CS highlighted that he will be visiting the Liwatoni processing ground while unveiling a significant move regarding the project, citing the various challenges that have been delaying its completion.
“I want to announce that an eligible contractor for the Liwatoni factory has been found and contracts have been prepared; hence, we are expecting that within the next 8 to 12 months we should be commissioning the factory and fully operationalising it for the interest of the Coast region,” highlighted the CS.
Acknowledging that the lack of employment is a huge challenge in the maritime sector, the CS noted that the government plans to combat the issue through collaboration with key stakeholders to offer sea time to seafarers upon graduation.
“We have had an extensive discussion with key stakeholders in the maritime sector; hence, within a week, they should have developed a framework in collaboration with TVET institutions on how they can broaden the spaces for training the upcoming seafarers,” stated Joho.
He highlighted another significant move to form a working committee on ship wreckage regarding the issue of eventually getting rid of worn-out ships in the country.
“We have decided that regarding worn-out ships in the country, the owners of the vessels are to transport them at their own cost and to pay for the exercise as well as leave behind the scrap metal; hence, this initiative will contribute immensely to the steel industry by bringing a significant decrease in metal prices in the country,” explained the CS.
On his part, County Governor, Abdulswammad Shariff Nassir highlighted that the county government is working on easing the burden of high hospital bills by commissioning free health care for seafarers at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital, as well as launching new boats for maritime personnel.
By Nuru Soud
