{{A container with four motor vehicles alleged to be contaminated with radioactive materials is still lying at the port of Mombasa a year after it was recommended for reshipping to Japan.}}
Correspondence between State agencies and a motor vehicle importers lobby group indicates the container detected on January 31st last year is yet to be shipped out following a dispute.
The Car Importers Association of Kenya says the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs), through its appointed inspection agency — the Japan Export Vehicle Inspection Centre (Jevic) — gave the consignment a clean bill of health that was rejected by the Kenya Radiation and Protection Board (KRPB) upon offloading at Mombasa.
“Our stand as an association is that Kebs is carrying out the radioactive measurement in Japan and this can be evidenced by the roadworthiness certificate which quotes ‘radiation free zone’.
Importers are paying inspection charge at a rate of $220 (Sh18,700),” association chairman Peter Otieno said in a letter to KRPB dated January 6.
Whereas Kebs has appointed agents to do pre-export verification, KRPB, which is charged with testing radio-active contamination, has appointed two agencies to carry out tests before vehicles are off-loaded from the ship at Mombasa port for a charge of Sh1,000.
Those that fail the standard test are not allowed onshore but taken back to their country of origin.
The board dismisses claims that Kebs agents carry out radioactive tests, saying Jevic did not apply to be a radiation service provider with the board and, therefore, the radioactive tests are not recognised by the authority.
“The board has confirmed that Jevic Ltd inspection fee of $220 is not for radiation. In fact, this is the same figure of inspection fee charged by Jevic Ltd even before the March 11, 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident in Japan,” KRPB wrote to the Kenya Maritime Authority in a letter dated January 29.
According to the association, since it is the responsibility of the government to ensure radiation-free imports before shipment into the country, the consignee should not bear any cost in case tests turn positive after arrival of the vehicles. “Inspection should be done at the port of loading not that of discharge.
Logistical challenges
This will protect all the interests of importers,” said Mr Otieno, adding that the cost of re-exporting a container ranges between $3,000-4,000 and importers do not have any way of recovering it.
On Wednesday, Nixon Mdachi, the principal radiation protection officer in Mombasa, said reshipping of the vehicles had delayed due to logistical challenges.
Storage charges have hit $56,000 (Sh4.7 million) and the importer has asked for a waiver that is yet to be granted.
In an earlier interview, lobby Kenya Auto Bazaar Association secretary Charles Munyori claimed KRBP does not have the capacity to test vehicles for radioactive before they leave the ship.
{Containers at the Mombasa port. One container with four motor vehicles alleged to be contaminated with radioactive materials is still lying at the port a year after it was recommended for return}
{businessdaily}
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