Should We Be Worried Over Multiple Chinese Investments Into Kenya

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The government is negotiating with China for a loan of about Sh370 billion to complete the third phase of the standard gauge railway. Should this be a cause of alarm for Kenyans?

The government just gave them this contract without a tendering process which many Kenyans preferred. The other day the government was told to give JKIA as payment for the debt is the China man to be trusted? Who accepts to give a loan when the previous one has not yet been paid off?

The other day a Chinese company was given a tender to provide electricity meters and also a quality control construct. Then they start performing rituals on our roads and Kenyans should keep calm, right? One day we may wake up and find our president is Chinese.

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Anyhow on debt matters, the newest debt that Kenya has acquired is the SGR construction, and accrding to Kenya Railways Acting Director Philip Mahinga, the corporation is also holding talks to finance a system that will ensure the railway, its passengers, goods and equipment are secure as they snake through sparsely populated regions in its 974-kilometre journey from Mombasa to Malaba in Busia County.

During a briefing about the status of the multibillion-shilling endeavour at the Chinese embassy in Nairobi on Tuesday, the country’s Chargé d’affaires Li Xuhang said the amount would be in form of concessional and hard loans.

The full details would be given during the official opening of the Naivasha terminal in May.

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However, an inside source said the interim amount is Sh368 billion. “SGR trains move 6,000 people daily, and we are concerned about our operations and security of the equipment,” Mr Mahinga said.

“The movement of trains from Mombasa to western Kenya needs to be secure from terrorists and other challenges. We ask the Chinese government to support us in this area.”

It is not clear how much it would cost to secure the railway line.

Kenyans, the International Monetary Fund and experts have raised questions about the repayment status of the existing loans.

The terms of repayment have also been a subject of debate following revelations a few months ago that the port of Mombasa could be handed over to Chinese if Kenya defaults on the loans.

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Mr Xuhang said the Mombasa-Nairobi railway earned $100 million in the 2017/18 financial year.

“The railway has created more than 50,000 jobs locally and boosted Kenya’s economic growth by 1.5 percent,” he said during the press briefing attended by officials of SGR management, the National Treasury, Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and Kenya Railways Corporation.

The Chinese said Kenyans form a majority of the SGR managers and employees, and that their safety is guaranteed, “contrary to negative reports in the media”.

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