Mining and Blue Economy CS Hassan Joho has hinted at plans to privatise the Liwatoni Fisheries Complex in Mombasa.
This comes after the government invested Sh1.49 billion in the construction of the complex, which was meant to enhance fish processing and value addition.
“We have made a decision that it will happen this year. And by the way, the decision is that the government shouldn’t run business. The government is a facilitator. So we will enable other players to come in and run that facility,” Joho said.
He spoke at Ummu Kulthum Mosque in Mombasa, where he made his Eid-ul-Adha prayers on Friday.
The same would happen to the Shimoni Port in Kwale county, he added. Shimoni is the largest dedicated fish port in Kenya.
Concerning the opposition wave led by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Joho said he is “too busy working for the people to be distracted by opposition politics”.
“I don’t see any political temperatures rising. I only see work being done by the government,” he said, adding that he is focused on the work entrusted to him by President William Ruto.
“I have too much work to do. In Lamu, I am building a landing site. In Kwale, Kilifi and Mombasa counties I am building fish markets and establishing projects that involve mining.”
The CS also called on Mombasa residents to register on the ‘Boma Yangu’ portal for the Affordable Housing units that are being put up at VOK in Nyali subcounty. The registration is ongoing.
“We don’t want to create a situation where they do not register and then what is meant for them goes to other people,” Joho said.
“It will be a big loss for our people to miss out on such an opportunity to be a homeowner at an affordable price.”
The CS recently faced questions from UDA nominated Senator Miraj Abdillahi, who questioned the use of Sh1 billion that his ministry received from a Canadian donor.
Abdillahi said the benefits of the blue economy should be felt by women in the fisheries sector at the Coast.
“We have women who are supposed to have benefited from such facilities as the Liwatoni Complex. But unfortunately, it is not clear who has benefited.
“We hope the entity that will be running the complex will ensure that Coastal women also benefit from the same,” Abdillahi said.
She spoke in Mtongwe after distributing meat to residents during Eid-ul-Adha.
The senator also called on Muslim leaders to not only focus on distributing meat during the celebrations, but also ensure that women’s rights, just as those of men, are respected and observed.
“It will be wrong to, for instance, deny women their daily bread in the blue economy in whatever way. In the spirit of Eid-ul-Adha, let the women at the Coast also feel the benefit of the fisheries sector,” Abdillahi said.