Home » Media Centre » Blogs » Of Railways, Unilateral Presidential Declarations, Checks & Balances
As far as megaprojects go the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is definitely one. One of the flagships of Vision 2030, it is projected that the railway will take 5 years to build and will run through at least 7 of the 47 counties, opening up previously ‘difficult to reach’ areas and will extend to Rwanda and South Sudan opening up at least 40 business centres.
According the Vision 2030 website the SGR:
‘The SGR is the largest project to be undertaken in the country in 50 years....Kenyans are set to enjoy considerable savings...once the construction is completed...the project will herald a major economic transformation.’
So how much does a project of this magnitude cost?
It is estimated that the SGR will cost at the least Kshs. 340 billion. However this amount excludes costs of land acquisitions, demolition, taxes, interest rates on loans etc. So by the end of the project it will probably cost more than the reported amount of Kshs. 340 billion, according to the Vsion 2030 website the amount is more like 1.2 trillion shillings.
The SGR is probably a worthwhile investment, if it is finished on budget, on time and delivers promised benefits. However it seems that graft/corruption are already affecting the project. From regular coverage of murky government procurement and tendering processes it is unsurprising that the translation of the SGR from vision to reality is already the subject of controversy.
Two of the committees of the National Assembly, the Public Investment Committee (PIC) and the Departmental Committee on Transport are currently investigating the Kshs. 340 billion tender awarded China Road and Bridge Corporation for the construction of Mombasa-Nairobi Railway System.
According to press reports in documents tabled before the Committee the Attorney General, Githu Muigai, had advised that the process used to award the contract to build the railway was not backed by Kenyan law; and further that the Public Procurement Oversight Authority (PPOA) approved the project contrary to the AGs advice.
However in spite of ongoing investigations the President has made an uncategorical declaration that the railway project will proceed as planned. The President is quoted as stating, “There comes an hour when the noise must stop, and the work must begin. We are at that hour ...We must stop this culture we have developed that if one loses a bid, then he has to employ every trick to stop the project. If you lose a bid fair and square, move on but do not stop the transformation agenda.”And the AG has since stated that any comments made contrary to the legal of the process were mentioned out of context by the media
So while there is something to be said for ignoring the ‘haters’ and continuing with the work at hand. It appears that there still exist questions around the tendering/procurement process for the SGR. Yet without final reports investigations into the possible irregularities in the tendering process for the SGR, it appears that the project will proceed as planned. So one wonders what the implications are for the parliamentary democracy, having checks and balances between the executive and the legislature, what does it mean for transparency and accountability with regards to tendering processes, if the President can make unilateral declarations about their being above board?
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