Principal Secretary nominee for Transport Nduva Muli vows to revoke Rift Valley Railways agreement

By Allan Kisia

NAIROBI, KENYA: Kenya Railways Managing Director Nduva Muli vowed to revoke an agreement that handed over Uganda and Kenya Railways to a South African company once he is appointed Principal Secretary.

Muli said the decision will be based on the fact that the Rift Valley Railways Consortium had failed in its mandate.

He said as Transport PS, he will engage the Ugandan government so as to come up with a way forward over the matter. “Our Ugandan counterparts are actually on the receiving end more than us,” he stated.

He told the Transport , Public Works and Housing Committee that before the consortium took over, the railway line was handling over 1.5 million tones it is now handling less than one million tones a year.

Rift Valley Railways Consortium, led by South Africa’s Sheltam Group, won the right to run Kenya and Uganda Railways Corporation for 25 years. The consortium won the bid for private management of the century-old Kenya-Uganda railway in 2005.

On Wednesday, Muli regretted that the country will not be able to handle the cargo at the port of Mombasa if railway transport is not upgraded.

Muli said tracks of the Kenya Railway are so dilapidated and the trains moving at a very slow pace of 10 kilometers per hour.

He had been asked to explain how he will turn around the railway transport, yet while serving as the Managing Director, he did not achieve much.

He defended himself by saying that he has been pushing the government to restructure the railway line but it has not been possible.

He added that during his tenure, he was able to increase revenue from lands from Sh12 million a year and Sh600 million a year. On the encroachment of human life near the railway line, Muli said that they have so far received funding from World Bank to move the people living in Mukuru and Kibera slums to other areas.

The chairperson of the committee, Starehe MP Maina Kamanda said there is a need to save Kenya railway line from imminent collapse.

Runyenjes Mp Cecile Mbarire said that as a committee they will take up the matter and ensure that they get to the bottom of the matter.

The session also saw the MPs dismissing affidavits issued by Kenyans regarding the character of Muli.

The Consortium offered to pay initial fees of $3 million for Kenya, $2 million for Uganda, annual concession fees of 11.1 per cent of its gross revenues in each country and $1 million annually for the passenger services concession in Kenya.

The agreement was signed despite a court order stopping the process. Kenya Railways Pensioners Association moved to the high court last December and obtained an injunction stopping the concession until their retirement dues were set aside.

 


 

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