President Uhuru Kenyatta’s unending thirst for loans and mismanagement of funds by his administration have come to haunt him after China refused to extend part of the funding as a grant,
According to reports, China also wanted “sufficient proof of viability” before they could authorise the deal to construct the standard gauge railway beyond Naivasha.
This forced the Government to make a surprise admission that the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) will actually end in Naivasha from where the old railway will continue to be used to Kisumu.
According to Transport CS James Macharia, the SGR will be joined to the old meter gauge railway in Naivasha to speed up the resumption of transport services to kisumu.
“We have agreed to work on upgrading the meter gauge railway as a matter of priority so that, once the ongoing construction between Nairobi and Naivasha are completed in August, we are able to transport goods to Malaba in time,” Mr. Macharia told Nation.
The move by China to deny Uhuru the loan could not have come at a better time according to most Kenyans.
Others are cautious that the denial could see a serious increase in taxes in the June 2019 budget.
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