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There has been a lot of scrutiny by the media, both conventional and social, of various public funded projects and parastatal expenditures lately.
Though we hardly ever get satisfactory explanations from the relevant authorities on why certain expenses and decisions were made, or not made, the mere fact that someone is asking is good enough for future accountability and frugality in public investments.
It may be considered meddling but it is, actually, such prodding questions by a nosy media that has led to radical reparations by the executive, albeit quietly, in the past. Granted, there has been, and still is, a lot of opacity in many multibillion shillings projects funded by the taxpayer.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has been very bold in tackling corruption and corruption-associated individuals even, on mere allegations.
Remember the infamous Arror and Kimwarer dams alleged scandals? Even though the President’s own deputy went on record to deny any irregularity in the procurement process, Uhuru went ahead to put on line the career and reputation of his friend and Cabinet Secretary to just send home the message that he has no space for corruption!
As we speak, then Treasury CS Henry Rotich and some other 16 senior government officials are jobless and facing corruption charges in the courts, thanks to an inquisitive media and a listening head of state!
Then there is the obvious rot at the Kenya Power and Lighting Company that has seen power users and the general taxpayer lose billions in either inflated bills or no-so-transparent tenders. Again, because of a vibrant media and an anti-corruption head of government, several heads have rolled and many more are on the judicial chopping board for dipping their dirty fingers into the public cookie jar.
An objective and free press is, no doubt, desirable for the country.
However either out of ignorance, laziness or outright dishonest reporting, writers have made attacking the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) an evil past time.
They have waged a blistering evil crusade to mislead Kenyans and the world about SGR.
However, not once have they attempted to examine and evaluate the performance of SGR against meeting the economic, business and cultural integration of East Africa objectives as laid out in the Master Plan. This would give a balanced picture to the readers.
They go about this by viciously waging an evil crusade of peddling falsehoods and fiction about SGR’s economic viability.
Among highlights is an extreme scepticism that it was “a railway to nowhere.”
They allege that is a heist of billions of shillings of taxpayers money through inflation of bills of quantities, pulled off inside the Chinese government funded Exim Bank of China in Beijing, with full connivance of Chinese and Kenyan officials.
The narrative is that the SGR was a waste, poorly conceived and executed, was performing dismally, could not repay itself, and tax payers should belt up for a painful ride repaying for a white elephant of a crazy project.
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
It may be a long time coming but the SGR is a project worthy celebrating and the media would do itself and the country a great service if it “exposed” the myriad opportunities it offers.
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