Truckers’ strike paralyses Northern Corridor operations
Wednesday July 12 2023
Trucks remain parked by the roadside along the Northern Corridor in Mtito Andei, Kenya, following a nationwide anti-government strike on July 12, 2023. PHOTO | WACHIRA MWANGI | NMG
Business at the port of Mombasa has been paralysed after trucker drivers down their tools protesting against new directives by the government.
The transporters along the Northern Corridor, from Mombasa at the coast to Malaba at the Ugandan border, parked their vehicles disrupting the movement of cargo along the corridor.
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Kenya Long Distance Truck Drivers Union (KLDTDU) Secretary General Roman Waema said their 21 days strike notice to the government expired on Tuesday, but the government failed to deal with them.
“We were disappointed by Transport Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kipchumba Murkomen calling suspension of retesting without addressing pertinent issues,” said Mr Waema.
Mr Murkomen, in a statement Tuesday, suspended the retesting of drivers of commercial and public service vehicles (PSV) in the country until September 1.
He said this would allow the multi-agency committee to address concerns raised by drivers.
“Towards this end, the ministry and stakeholders have agreed on the formation of a multi-agency that will among others, review the grievances raised by the drivers and conductors,” Mr Murkomen said.
At Mtito Andei, hundreds of trucks have been parked with drivers promising to continue with the strike until the government addresses their issues.
Read: Traders shift from Northern Corridor to rail on high fuel costs
“We are waiting for our association to tell us to suspend strike, not CS Murkomen,” said Wilfred Kinyanjui, a truck driver.
The transporters want a 2012 Taskforce on Long Distance Road Safety be implemented, which calls for the reduction of roadblocks, the creation of special police to monitor unroadworthy vehicles, and the cutback of cumbersome clearing procedures at the border.
On the mandatory retesting of drivers every three years, Mr Waema said the directive by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) was punitive.
“We asked NTSA to involve stakeholders before implementing the directive, but they disregarded us. Apart from the process, the exercise will be a financial burden on drivers already earning low incomes,” he said.
“We proposed to the Ministry of Transport and the NTSA to introduce free refresher courses for PSV drivers as a continuous road safety training alternative, rather than imposing costly retesting,” he added.