Tough questions on the construction and operations of the Nairobi Expressway await officials from the Transport and Treasury ministries as well as the Chinese contractor as MPs start investigations into the Sh72 billion project

The National Assembly Finance and Planning committee is probing the project following complaints from motorists and other Kenyans.

Committee chairman Kuria Kimani yesterday confirmed to the Nation that the project investigation will be the team’s first business when the House resumes on February 14.

“We have received concerns from motorists and other concerned Kenyans on why they are forced to pay cash when using the road while all government services are currently going cashless,” said Mr Kimani.

He added that the committee has also received concerns about the financing model of the project undertaken by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC).

“Details of the project also remain scanty and the public might have been misled about the financing model of the road. While we were told the project was financed through a public-private partnership (PPP), there is a perception that it was done through a loan,” Mr Kimani said.

Last month, Moja Expressway Company CEO Steve Zhao announced that M-Pesa will officially be available as a payment mode starting January 15.

Some of the issues the committee will be seeking to get to the bottom of include the amount collected daily by the Chinese company.

Concession fee

The committee also needs to determine whether Treasury gets a share of the concession fee or whether the concession period will be reduced with time.

Officials from the Transport ministry will be required to provide details of the contract that the government signed with the Chinese company. It is still not clear if former Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia will be summoned by the committee.

CRBC officials will also be expected to give details of the contract and a breakdown of its daily operation, including the number of vehicles using the road per day and the amount of money it’s collecting.

Treasury officials will be required to clear the air on whether the company was granted any tax exemptions during the signing of the contract and whether it was done within the law; whether CRBC is remitting tax and how much has been remitted so far; and whether it is getting a share of the concession fee.

Lawmakers, while discussing the new regulations to guide PPP projects, questioned why the expressway operator has refused to integrate online payments such as M-Pesa and credit cards.

Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wa said that although the project has been executed and launched, nothing stops Parliament from getting details on it for accountability purposes.

MPs claimed Kenyans might have gotten a raw deal on the project, pointing out that the initial agreement stipulated that the contractor, upon completion of the expressway, would repair the previously existing road used by the majority of motorists. They claimed that the provision was deleted at the last minute and a new tender worth Sh9 billion for the same works was put on the cards after the August polls.

During the opening of the 27.1km expressway last year, Mr Macharia said Sh9 billion had been set aside to repair Uhuru Highway, Mombasa Road and Waiyaki Way, which had been damaged. It is this new cost, together with the increase of the project cost from Sh65.2 billion to Sh72.8 billion that the Senate will also be probing following a request for a statement by Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei.

smundu@ke.nationmedia.com