Shoddy work on infrastructure exposes public to serious danger

Though commendable, in the rush to finish the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) on time for the Madaraka Day celebrations, certain critical security considerations were ignored. Paramount on the Government’s list of things was to get the railway functional at the earliest opportunity. So far, ticketing on the SGR is very lax. A person just walks into the station and purchases a ticket. The tickets do not capture particulars of the passengers. In case of an unforeseen eventuality, it would be quite difficult ascertaining who, or the exact number of people on board the train. This lapse has given rise to a thriving blackmarket where the receipts are resold to desperate travellers at a markup.

Equally important, the rush to complete projects should not be at the cost of human life. Early this week, the Sigiri Bridge in Budalang’i constituency, Busia County, constructed at a whopping Sh1.2 billion, came apart before it could be used.