We won't accept everything you shove at us, President Uhuru Kenyatta tells local contractors

President Uhuru Kenyatta. PHOTO: FILE

NAIROBI: Local engineers and contractors will not be awarded contracts in the new road-building plan unless they ensure value for money, President Uhuru Kenyatta has said.

He said roads constructed under the Government's annuity programme must be affordable and cost-effective, adding that only contractors who adhere to this will benefit.

"You cannot just say that because the Government is looking for new ways of funding infrastructure development, we will accept everything that you put on the table even if it is costly and not cost-effective," the President warned.

President Kenyatta was speaking in Nairobi yesterday when he opened the Japan-Kenya Conference on Infrastructure. The meeting was attended by local and Japanese contractors and engineering firms. He urged local contractors to borrow a leaf from their Japanese counterparts and ensure that they deliver quality projects.

He also announced that Kenya will host the first-ever Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) held on African soil.

Uhuru said Gambia, the second and only country that was also bidding to host TICAD, withdrew their bid in Kenya's favour. The conference will be held next year.

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"I sent the Deputy President to negotiate with our brothers and sisters in Gambia. I am very happy to state today that I received a call last night that our friends in Gambia have acceded that Kenya be the country to host the TICAD meeting," he said.

He added: "We are, therefore, keenly and eagerly looking forward to the confirmation by the Government of Japan that indeed Kenya shall be the host of the first-ever TICAD conference on African soil. This will mark the beginning of even deeper partnerships between Africa and the great technological giant that is Japan."

Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in a message read by Ambassador Tatsushi Terada, said Kenya has continued to be Japan's largest development cooperation partner in Sub-Saharan Africa.

"You may notice that many infrastructure projects are currently underway with Japanese funding," he said.

He affirmed his Government's commitment to work with Kenya to incorporate Japan's advanced techniques in meeting the high demand for infrastructure development in Kenya.

Mr Shinzo cited Olkaria Geo-thermal Power plants and the Mombasa Port as examples.