KPA’s KSh18.7 billion is highest ‘special dividend’ contribution to ease cash crunch

Kenya Ports Authority is the largest contributor of special dividend money disbursed by government parastatals to the treasury following a meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta earlier in the week.

Kurunzi can confirm that despite the turbulence and vicious tender wars against KPA Managing Director Daniel Manduku and the board of directors, the authority has remitted KSh18.7 billion to ease the cash crunch the government is facing.

This accounts for 53% of the KSh34 billion that was approved.

Treasury has been going through a rough debt patch which has necessitated the Treasury to run to parastatals to peg the gap, with a number of external loans maturing. Treasury has suffered huge financial deficits, made worse by the failure by Kenya Revenue Authority to reach tax collection targets.

A letter in our possession confirms the KSh18 from KPA was wired to Consolidated Fund on Tuesday, only a day after the State House meeting.

“The money was paid to the treasury as requested by His Excellency the President on Monday,” a source told Kurunzi.

“The current MD (Dr Manduku) has done very well since he came in and the results is that for the first time KPA is remitting this huge dividend to the principal shareholder, who is the government.”

Manduku, formerly at the helm of National Construction Authority, was appointed to KPA in May 2018 in acting capacity before his confirmation seven months later.

Among the achievements of his short tenure so far, is enhanced efficiency in port operations, which has hastened cargo evacuation leading to high turnover in container volumes.

Manduku has instituted a number of management and policy changes that have resulted in sealing of loopholes through which cartels were minting money through unscrupulous deals and collusion with some staff members.

“The MD is being fought because of how he has stopped the eating culture here at the port and a lot of the scandals being talked about are a classic case of corruption fighting back. The president and everybody who means well must not yield to the pressure from cartels, Dr Manduku is the right man for this job and one can only imagine how this place would be at the end of three years.”