UDA Secretary General Hassan Omar Hassan has proposed a shift in Mombasa’s economic model from cargo transit to manufacturing and value addition.
Speaking in Mombasa on Thursday, September 24, Hassan said the county should use investments in the Port of Mombasa and the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to establish industries, create jobs and retain more economic value locally.
He said Mombasa has historically handled large volumes of cargo but has not benefited sufficiently from the economic activity associated with goods passing through the city.
“Mombasa has faced a fundamental dilemma: it has one of the most important ports in Africa, but much of the economic value associated with cargo passing through the city has been generated elsewhere,” Hassan said.
He said the focus should now be on ensuring Mombasa becomes a destination for production and investment rather than simply a transit point.
“The challenge before us is to ensure that Mombasa does not remain merely a gateway through which goods pass, but becomes a place where value is added, industries are established, businesses grow and residents secure jobs and meaningful opportunities,” he said.
Hassan pointed to the Dongo Kundu SEZ and Port as key opportunities for transforming the county’s economic structure.
He said the national government has allocated about KSh42 billion to the Mombasa SEZ and Dongo Kundu Port, describing the investment as having the potential to change the structure of Mombasa’s economy.
According to Hassan, the county should move from cargo handling to value addition, imports and exports to production, warehousing to industrial manufacturing, and a transit economy to a production-based economy.
The UDA official also proposed the establishment of a Mombasa Investment and Competitiveness Office to make it easier for businesses to start, operate and expand in the county.
He said the proposed office would focus on issues including digital licensing, transparent land-use planning, industrial access roads, reliable local services, investment facilitation and skills development.
“My government will treat the investor as a partner rather than an obstacle,” Hassan said.
He further proposed the publication of a quarterly Mombasa Economic Dashboard to track indicators including business registrations, licensing timelines, county revenues, pending bills, investment commitments, jobs created, completed markets and roads, water connections, waste collection, health indicators and major development projects.
Hassan said such a system would allow residents to measure the performance of the county government.
The speech also linked Mombasa’s economic transformation to the wider Coast region, where Hassan said more than 170 projects valued at about KSh340.5 billion had been recorded, with Mombasa accounting for approximately KSh120.6 billion.
He said the priority should now be ensuring that investments translate into tangible opportunities for residents.
The UDA SG was speaking at the Mombasa ASK Showgrounds, where he hosted thousands of polling centre officials drawn from all thirty (30) wards.