Kenya Ferry Services has been dissolved and all its functions transferred to the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).
Transport Principal Secretary Solomon Kitungu presided over a ceremony where ferry workers were assured of integration into KPA.
The entire Kenya Ferry board was sent home but the ex-Managing Director Bakari Gowa was assigned the role of General Manager.
“The former Kenya Ferry Services MD becomes the General Manager because we can’t have two MDs in one parastatal."
“The Ferry Board has been dissolved and we now have the KPA Board only,” KPA's Acting Managing Director Eng. Rashid Salim said.
In 2020 insufficient funding, population explosion, poverty and the lack of a board are some reasons that were cited for ineffective management of ferries.
During an inquiry by the National Assembly and Senate transport committees, Gowa said they receive less money than they require every fiscal year.
In 2019 President Uhuru Kenyatta revoked the appointment of Kenya Ferry Services board chairperson Dan Mwazo and four other members.
In a Gazette notice dated October 16, 2019, Uhuru announces the termination of appointments of the board chairman and his team.
The axe came in the wake of KFS being in the spotlight following the Likoni ferry tragedy in which a mother and daughter mysteriously sunk in the Indian Ocean after their car slid off the ferry.
