Why the government should do away with Chinese contractors and loans

The government of Kenya should now re-think about
awarding road contracts to the Chinese companies after a series of complaints
on projects implemented by Chinese firms.

A spot check around the country indicates that while
Chinese firms have the lion’s share of infrastructure projects, they are either
stalled, way behind schedule, marred with allegations of corruption and
mistreatment of Kenyan workers with locals expressing concerns that the projects
do not meet their expectations.

Case in point is the road linking Kakamega with
Uasin Gishu that was launched by DP Ruto in 2018.

21 months later and with just 5 months to 2021 when
the project was to be completed, not even a kilometer of tarmac has been made
despite the contractor reportedly receiving millions as advance payment.

Interestingly, a representative of the contractor
blamed Covid-19 which was first reported in Kenya barely four months ago for
the delay in implementing the project.

The Standard Gauge Railway is yet another projected
that marred in controversies with allegations of corruption and reports
indicating that the cost of the project was grossly inflated, giving the
taxpayer a raw deal.

Tales abound of the discrimination, intimidation, underpayment and harassment of Kenyan workers at the SGR.

The iconic Sigiri bridge that was constructed at a cost of Ksh1.2 billion shillings, only to collapse barely a week after it was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta remains the perfect example of quality concerns with Chinese project.

Outering road that weaves its way through Eastlands is yet another project that baffled Kenyans after the contractor made the road without a single pedestrian crossing or footbridge.

After several accidents, complaints, protests and loss of lives, relevant authorities took action to remedy the situation.

In a deal that left the taxpayer poorer, hundreds of millions were spent on the project on things that should have been covered in the initial cost.

The infrastructure projects funded by China
come with a lot of strings attached, key among them is that the contracts must
be awarded to Chinese firms.

The loans equally attract high-interest rates, and in the case of the SGR, disputes on the project cannot be resolved in Kenya. They have to be resolved in China where the Asian giant clearly has authority that no office in Kenya can challenge.

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