Shortly before Au Envoy Raila Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta could kick off their Journey to China, Raila disclosed to Kenyans that SGR loan negotiations was part of the trip. But was it the case? After they failed to secure the Ksh 368 billion meant for the extension of SGR from Naivasha to Kisumu, House has now denied the SGR loan was part of the agenda during the recent visit by President Kenyatta to China.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Saturday, Chief of Staff Nzioka Waita said the question of funding for the extension of the SGR from Naivasha to Kisumu was not on the agenda of the meeting between the Uhuru and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Waita was reacting after the Nation and the Standard’s front page Saturday headlines reported on the ‘unsuccessful trip’ by Uhuru and AU special envoy Raila Odinga where they failed to secure the over Sh300 billion loan deal.
“It is very disappointing to read excerpts from the newspapers. The President cannot be said to be returning home empty-handed for something he did not request,” he stated.
The Chief of Staff maintained the headlines were not only factually incorrect, but they were also ‘misleading and extremely damaging to the reputation of the People and the Government of the Republic of Kenya’.
“The Government of Kenya did not discuss any funding proposals for the extension of the SGR at the meeting. The SGR project is a regional project and the complexities in negotiating its completion involve several countries and securing financing for its completion could take several years of intricate negotiations,” he added.
Earlier on Saturday, Foreign Affairs CS Monica Juma lashed out at the media over their reporting on the SGR loan deal by China.
Juma made it clear that the relationship between Kenya and China is broader than the SGR.
“In fact, the SGR extension beyond Naivasha was never a priority agenda for the current mission to Beijing,” she tweeted.