Windfall for port staff as KPA set to pay Sh500m pending bonuses
Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen (left) and Kenya Ports Authority MD William Ruto receive ship-to-shore gantry cranes imported from China at berth 16 on August 14, 2023.
According to KPA data, Mombasa port handled 32.656 million tonnes of cargo in 2018/2019, which increased to over 35.563 million tonnes in 2021/2022.
During the period under review, container traffic rose from 722,063 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to 783,125 TEUs, an impressive increase of 8.5 per cent.
The government is set to pay over 7,000 Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) workers Sh500 million in bonuses that have been accruing since 2021.
The bonuses, equivalent to one month's salary, have figured prominently in workers' grievances. Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said the government was in the final stages of processing the bonuses in order to motivate the workers.
