Five MPs ask China to block standard gauge railway loan BY EDRIS KIGGUNDU Illustration showing railway route through East African countries Five MPs have written to China’s Exim bank urging it not to extend a loan to the firm recently contracted to construct the standard gauge railway (SGR). The regional railway is to be built by Chinese Habour Engineering Company Ltd (CHECL). It was officially launched at Speke Resort Munyonyo on Wednesday by presidents Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Salva Kiir (South Sudan), and Kenya’s cabinet secretary for Transport and Infrastructure, Michael Kamau. The entire project is estimated to cost $8.5 billion (Shs 22 trillion), which will be borrowed from Exim bank. But in an October 6 letter, the five MPs warn that if the controversy surrounding the award of the project is not resolved, the loan from Exim bank will be treated as a donation, which future governments may not be liable to pay back. The letter is signed by MPs Theodore Ssekikubo (Lwemiyaga), Abdu Katuntu (Bugweri), Wilfred Niwagaba (Ndorwa East), Barnabas Tinkasiimire (Buyaga West) and Paul Mwiru (Jinja Municipality East) “…This is, therefore, to put Exim bank and the government of the People’s Republic of China on notice that the contract being peddled and signed with CHEC and the loan to be advanced for the SGR project in Uganda is being so done in total breach and disrespect of the Constitution of the republic of Uganda…,” the legislators write in their five-page letter. Niwagaba told The Observer yesterday that their concerns were still relevant despite the launch of the project. “What was launched on Wednesday was just a project. There was no formal signing of a contract. We still believe that when a sober government comes up, the possibility of not honouring the loan will be high,” he said. He said they would table more evidence next week in Parliament to prove that CHECL has no capability to build the railway. The railway deal took a controversial turn in August, when the minister of state for Works, John Byabagambi, terminated the MOU signed between government and another Chinese firm, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) in 2012, ignoring a High court order not to do so. Under the MOU, CCECC was supposed to embark on upgrading the eastern/northern route of the railway. The MPs point out five issues in their letter which they say make the project questionable: the multiplicity of MOUs entered by government officials with different companies for the same project, abuse of the procurement process, influence peddling and abuse of office, disrespect of court orders and fronting a company (CHECL) which, in their view, is inexperienced to undertake a project of that magnitude. On September 3, the same MPs moved a motion imploring Parliament to set up a select committee to investigate the actions of Byabagambi and all officials involved in the procurement process of the SGR project. On September 25, Parliament partly considered the motion, awaiting a response from government, which had been expected on October 1. But on October 1, government was not able to give its response and it was given a further one week to clarify circumstances under which the railway deal was awarded to CHECL. We were unable to get a comment from Byabagambi. [email protected]
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 07:41:59 +0000
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