ABSTRACT
The whole of the floating plant used in connection with the landing and shipping of cargo is the property of two lighterage companies, namely, the African Wharfage Company and the East African Lighterage Company. The activities of these companies are not, however, confined to lighterage, but embrace the handling of the goods ashore up to the point of their delivery to the consignee or his agents in the case of imports, and from the point of their receipt in the case of exports. The Commission in their Report state that the ‘unusually rapid development of the country has had the effect of outstripping the somewhat primitive system of control hitherto operating at the port. The utility of a port presents different aspects to the producer, the railway manager and the shipowner. The producer in the interior looks upon the port as a link in a chain of transport.
