A sigh of relief swept through the Coast region after the government succumbed to a mounting tide of opposition and called off the planned privatisation of the Port of Mombasa.
Faced with a united front of the region's political leaders and workers and the disowning of its plans by key players in the maritime sector, the government beat a hasty retreat and declared it would not proceed with the privatisation.
A sigh of relief swept through the Coast region after the government succumbed to a mounting tide of opposition and called off the planned privatisation of the Port of Mombasa.
Faced with a united front of the region's political leaders and workers and the disowning of its plans by key players in the maritime sector, the government beat a hasty retreat and declared it would not proceed with the privatisation.
And yet again the matter of consultation featured prominently in the raging debate, with local leaders and workers saying they were never involved in the process which they claimed were driven by a few individuals in government.
Matters were not helped when port clients who attended last week's stakeholders' meeting cited the lack of a legal framework within which to carry out the privatisation as a major drawback.
But as the government threw in the towel, leaders and workers say they will not rest until a gazette notice of 2008 that formed the basis for the proposed privatisation is withdrawn.
Similarly, a motion brought to Parliament by Garsen MP Danson Mungatana questioning the motive behind the intended sale of the port and seeking to have it stopped will proceed to its conclusion.
Last week, government spokesman Alfred Mutua said the government would not sell the port.
While praising the move, Mr Mungatana said: "Consultation costs nothing, but it works well in terms of bringing about the much-needed goodwill."
Saying the motion in Parliament will continue, Mr Mungatana added pressure would be put on government to go back to the drawing board and consult all stakeholders.
"The consultations must be done exhaustively and honestly."
According to the MP, if there is to be any privatisation of some services at the port, then there must be a clear determination of what percentage of what is to be privatised and who is going to participate.
"We are extremely happy. As leaders in the region, it has always been our position that the port of Mombasa should not be privatised," said Fisheries Development minister Amason Kingi.
Mr Kingi, who is also MP for Magarini, said Coast leaders were united in their opposition to privatisation and were ready to any length, including using legal means, to block the move.
"We don't see the rationale behind privatisation of a port that is performing admirably well. There are so many non-performing parastatals that the government can sell," the minister said in an interview.
Dock Workers Union secretary-general Simon Sang called for total degazettement of the notice on privatisation of the port.
"This is the first thing the government must do," he said.
He said a workable option the government should take is bring together other stakeholders to plan for a restructuring of the Kenya Ports Authority management to ensure efficiency and accountability in its operations.
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