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"id": 226113,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/226113/?format=api",
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Githae",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Transport",
"speaker": {
"id": 159,
"legal_name": "Robinson Njeru Githae",
"slug": "robinson-githae"
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"content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, April 17, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 657 in answering Prof. Anyang'-Nyong'o's question, I would like to assure him that the disagreement between shareholders will not affect the performance of the Rift Valley Railways. Why am I saying so? It is because the disagreement is between the 65 per cent shareholding and not within the shareholding of the other companies. Under the Concessioning Agreement, the leading investor must hold not less than 35 per cent of the voting shares. So, even if they were to lose the case, they would still end up withholding more than 35 per cent. Concerning whether this disagreement will affect their capacity to mobilise sufficient capital, I would like to assure this House that, that will not affect the mobilisation of sufficient capital because they have been able to get some two other shareholders; that is, Trans Century Limited, 20 per cent; ICDCI Investment, 10 per cent; and a technical strategic partner, Babercon and Brown of Australia, 10 per cent, who have a lot of experience in the running of railways. So, even if they were to lose the case in Uganda, that will not affect the operations of the concessionaire because they have other partners who have adequate and sufficient capital. As we speak now, the ruling from Uganda was that the value of the shares be deposited in the High Court in Uganda and that has been done. So, it will not affect the concessionaire's operations. Concerning the allegation that they are achieving higher revenue because of charging higher levies, I think that is not exactly correctly. This is because they have not increased their charges at all. In fact, they have continued with the charges that the Kenya Railways Corporation used to charge. The increase in revenue has been from the sealing of loopholes through which revenue used to get lost when it was being run by the Kenya Railways Corporation. For example, in the commuter service, quite a number of commuters were not being charged and they were sharing that money with the conductors. Presently, tickets are obtained in advance. That way, they have been able to seal some of the loopholes through which the Kenya Railway Corporation lost revenue. With regard to Mr. Marende's worry that the company may be selling its assets, I would like to assure this House that the Rift Valley Railways has no authority to sell even a nut or a bolt. What may have come to his notice is the sale of scrap metal which is being sold by the Kenya Railways Corporation. The scrap metal and all the assets that were not required by the Rift Valley Railways were left in the hands of Kenya Railways Corporation. So, it is the latter which is selling the scrap metal and not the former. With regard to hon. Billow's view that this is fraudulent transaction and that this company from South Africa cannot be trusted, again, I have said that, really, they have not been allowed to sell any assets. At best, the only thing they could probably take away is the revenue that has been generated. However, they report to the management of the Kenya Railways Corporation and every month, they give statistics showing the revenue collected, how much freight has been carried and so on. Therefore, the Kenya Railways Corporation is also a director of the Rift Valley Railways and is in a position to monitor what is happening. I would, therefore, like to assure this House that this Government will not allow the Rift Valley Railways to sell any assets, strip away the company, or divert funds from the operations of the Kenya Railways. Concerning hon. Arungah's question, I would like to assure him that all the employees whose services were terminated have been paid. The only ones who have not been paid are those ones who were taken over by the Rift Valley Railways and their money is held by the pension scheme so that any time they want their money, they can access it. Under the Concessioning Agreement, it is true that there are sanctions, but they will come into effect only after two years. That is when there will be a review of all the operations. If there is any breach in the Concessioning Agreement, then it will be terminated. Again, I would like to assure hon. Arungah that, indeed, we received the concessioning amount that was due under the 658 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 17, 2007 Concessioning Agreement before they were given the assets. Even Uganda also received its assets. What has happened is that the economy has grown and as a result, there is a pile up of containers at the Port of Mombasa. Also, the containers have piled up because they have been diverted from the Port of Dar es Salaam to Mombasa. Now that they have ordered for more locomotives and wagons, we hope that within the next six months, they should be able to reverse the current situation. However, I would like to assure this House that this Government will never allow, or even enter into an agreement which is fraudulent."
}