PHOTO CAPTION: During Macharia’s tenure, Kenya Railways was eroded into a hub of corruption.
Panic has gripped cartels at the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) where hidden skeletons risk coming to life following the arrival of newly appointed Cabinet Secretary for Roads, Transport, and Public works, Kipchumba Murkomen.
For the longest time, stakeholders and concerned members of the public highly looked forward to the departure of James Macharia, who held the docket captive for the past ten years.
During Macharia’s tenure, Kenya Railways was eroded into a hub of corruption which was perpetuated through multiple dubious projects, such as the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and improvement of cargo handling in Mombasa and Naivasha.
Representatives from the Kenyan and Chinese governments worked in cahoot to pilfer taxpayers’ funds through exorbitant costs on fictitious projects.
For instance, Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) exposed itself to huge losses when it entered a skewed contract on the management of passenger operations for the SGR line.
The Managing Director Philip Mainga executed a flawed deal with Africa Star Railways (Afristar), the Chinese operator for the SGR line, which ran largely unchecked where Kenya Railways lost up to Sh.1.4m daily.
The contract was signed during Athanas Maina’s tenure and was initiated by Philip Mainga.
In 2014, Kenya secured a $3.2 billion loan from China to cater for the construction of the SGR connectivity to the capital, Nairobi, and the port city of Mombasa.
The project was termed as the most costly in the world.
As things stand, Kenya Railways managers are engaged in constant fights as questions continue to rise on whether Kenya will be able to repay the Chinese loans which have now topped a whopping $ 4.7 billion after the expansion of the SGR line.
According to insiders, Mr. Mainga is the mastermind of the dubious projects which were approved and overseen by ex-President Uhuru Kenyatta’s close confidant James Macharia.
Athanas Maina and Philip Mainga are fingered as the main architects of the rot at Kenya Railways.
Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, who is a close ally of President William Ruto, now takes over the docket.
He is expected to oversee major administrative changes to ensure that intended developments are achieved across the country.
In his manifesto, Ruto pledged to oversee the upgrading and maintenance of Kenya’s transport systems.
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