Ferry services were severely reduced last Friday morning, again causing departing tourists from the south coast of Mombasa to arrive late for their flights, and kept commuters struggling to get to work. In turn, arriving tourists took hours on end before they reached their hotels at the south coast, once again prompting the general public and tourism representatives to call upon government to take decisive action with the ferry management over the frequent service disruptions and inconvenience cause to business, workers, pupils, students, and tourists.
It was also confirmed to this correspondent by a source from Mombasa, that three top officials of the ferry company, including their CEO, were apparently fired over the diversion of funds meant to pay for new ferries presently nearing completion in a German dock yard. These news, according to the source, could not have come any sooner as the public also holds these officials responsible for the frequent breakdown of services. Added the source: “sacking them is a good start, but for the loss of that money, they should also be prosecuted.”
The two new ferries are expected to reach Mombasa by the end of March and will then go into service soon thereafter. Added information received also speaks about plans to add another ramp to the existing two on each side of the Likoni channel to improve infrastructure and permit up to three ferries to land during the rush hour, although such work, due to the location of the ferry ramps and the limitations for extra road access may take some time before work can even start.
