Senate investigates KPA over suspected irregular Sh1.4 bn waivers to importers

The Senate Roads and Transport Committee has initiated an investigation into the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) over the issuance of waivers amounting to Sh1.4 billion to companies importing goods.

This comes after concerns were raised about possible misuse of the waivers to siphon taxpayer funds through corrupt practices.

Committee chair Senator Karungo Thangwa who is leading the investigation, criticised KPA for issuing the waivers on what he described as “flimsy grounds”.

The probe is focusing particularly on waivers granted to Ugandan companies, with Thangwa expressing concern about the potential for corrupt exploitation.

“We are concerned about this issue because corruption loopholes have been addressed through the use of eCitizen. Now, some individuals are exploiting this system to enrich themselves. They say, ‘I will give you a waiver of Sh50 million, then you give me Sh20 million.’ We need a detailed report on these waivers,” Thangwa said during a meeting with KPA Managing Director William Ruto.

Documents presented to the committee revealed that a company owned by a Ugandan businessman, was granted a storage fee waiver of $29,274 (Sh3.7 million), leaving it to pay only $18,588 (Sh2.37 million) out of the total accumulated fees of $46,470 (Sh5.9 million) over 531 days.

The waiver was reportedly granted due to a severe traffic accident involving the businessman son, which delayed the cargo clearance.

“The co-owner was given a waiver after facing challenges due to a serious traffic accident. This is something we may need to investigate further to verify the circumstances,” Thangwa said.

The Uganda Police Force was also granted a storage waiver amounting to Sh56 million, paying just Sh14 million out of an accumulated Sh70 million in storage costs.

In defense, KPA's Managing Director William Ruto said the authority operates under a clearly defined waiver policy.

“We have a waiver policy that governs our decisions. We rely on this policy. He explained that most waivers relate to storage fees rather than other charges,” he said.

Ruto added that of the Sh67 billion revenue collected by KPA in the last financial year, only two per cent was allocated for waivers, predominantly for storage charges, humanitarian aid, and donations.

“These waivers mostly pertain to storage charges, not other mandatory costs,” he said.

The committee said it will continue with the investigations to assess whether the waivers were misused or granted appropriately.