MPs demand to know people in railway deal

Parliamentary Transport Committee Chairman Maina Kamanda

MPs have demanded to know the identities of people behind two local companies hired by the Government to provide consultancy and support services in the construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi standard gauge railway line.

The House committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing wants the identities of the shareholders of Edon Consultants International and Apec Consortium revealed.

Kenya Railways Managing Director Athanas Maina was asked to provide details of the faces behind the companies, with concerns being raised that the firms may have been awarded the contracts in disregard of due diligence requirements.

The two companies are part of a consortium that also includes The Third Railway Survey Design Institute Group Corporation (TSDI), which is a sister company to China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC).

Committee chairman Maina Kamanda warned that any such possibility would have grave consequences. “We want to believe the consultancy firms are not related to CRBC. We have not seen the due diligence you conducted on the companies. If it emerges that you awarded the consultancy to the same people, it will be a big scandal,” said Kamanda.

Cecily Mbarire (Runyenjes) said it was important that the names of the people behind the two local companies forming the consortium be revealed for the sake of transparency. “What are the names and nationalities of the individuals behind the firms?” she asked.

According to the submissions made before the committee, TSDI is owned by China Railway Construction investment Company, which is owned by China Railway Corporation. The remaining 30 per cent is owned by China Railway Group Limited.

Ijira MP Abbas Ibrahim claimed that TSDI is an appendage of CRBC and that there is risk of poor supervision of the project as a result of the relationship.

“The moment you are owned by the same entity, you are one and the same. They have been following CRBC wherever they go,” he claimed.

One of the companies that lost in the tender, Teams Engineering SPA has filed a judicial review application at the High Court challenging the award on grounds of conflict of interest.

Maina promised to reveal the identities of the shareholders of the entities next week. “We are going to supply the names of the shareholders. We will ask them to swear affidavits that the companies are their own, and do not belong to other people,” he said.