MORE FERRIES? WE WANT THE SOUTH COAST BYPASS SAY TOURISM STAKEHOLDERS!
(Posted 05th November 2014)
‘Bringing in more ferries is long long overdue because we all know that the ferry company can hardly cope during peak traffic periods. But the tourism industry wants the bypass to link Moi International Airport and the Nairobi to Mombasa highway to the South Coast without the need to go through Mombasa. The British travel advice bans this transit route while they say the beaches beyond are safe. Our politicians have let us down for too long. This bypass, if it were ready, could have come to the rescue of our tourism businesses in Diani. How much longer do we have to wait?’ ranted a regular source from the Kenya coast when passing the information about two new ferries being ordered for delivery in 2016.
The Kenya Ferry Service, in the past often under intense scrutiny and public pressure when operational problems or strikes caused huge delays, currently operates five ferries and the proposed acquisition of two new and larger ones is expected to bring some temporary relief to commuters in and out of Mombasa island. The orders for the new ferries, according the information received, should be signed and sealed before the end of the year to meet the 2016 delivery deadline.
While the ferries are crucially important for commuters and traders, to reach their work places in Mombasa city and deliver goods to the markets, has the ferry crossing however gained some notoriety with the tourism trade, over the often long waits, missed flight connections in the past which disrupted the planned flight home for tourists coming from the Diani resorts and more recently as a hotspot for radicals which is best avoided.
Past incidents have brought about a more sustained police presence in the Likoni area and especially the ferry approach and ramps are now closely watched to deter trouble makers, but by and large have residents at the South Coast and of course the resorts, hotels and other business operators made up their mind that only a bypass highway can be the solution for the long term. But the sentiments of another source contacted for comment probably wrap up the combined opinions when he said: ‘We will probably get a lot more ferries before the new highway to the South Coast is ready. It is a shame really when we see what is happening in and around Nairobi and we are just left behind, no bypass, no second bridge and no conference centre. And politicians still wonder why the electorate despises them and calls them liars’.
Ouch comes to mind, not that these very politicians probably bother in the least about such issues, not until the next campaign starts anyway.
