MPs ask court to block rail project
Works minister John Bybagambi (in black suit) flagging off the Standard Gauge rail work at Tororo Railway Station last month. Photo by Joseph Omollo
What you need to know:
Seeking answers. MPs say the signing of the contract flouted procedure.
KAMPALA. A suit to block the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) could further delay the multi-billion project intended to boost transport, and cut costs of doing business in the East African region.
In a suit filed at the High Court in Kampala on June 25 by three Members of Parliament, Theodore Ssekikubo (Lwemiyaga County), Barnabas Tinkasimire (Buyaga West), and Joseph Gonzanga Sewungu (Kalungu West) want the SGR process quashed.They argue that the signing of the contract between government and the Chinese firm, China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC) on March 30, “side-stepped, and was in contempt of the parliamentary probe process”.
According to the MPs’ suit, the signing of the agreement was done in disregard of Parliament’s role and this violates the principles of good governance.
“ The applicants pray for a declaration that the decision of government represented by Ministry of Works to sign a contract with China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC) regarding the Eastern and Northern Standard Gauge Railway Network project is illegal, null and void..” reads in part, the suit.
The law makers’ court documents further demand “an order to quash the said contract.”
Parliamentary probe
In November last year, the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga named a select committee to probe the controversy surrounding the construction of the SGR.
The Speaker’s action followed a Parliamentary resolution that the process had been flawed with bribery and that the cost of $8 billion (about Shs20.5 trillion) is inflated.
The seven-man team, chaired by Mr Sekitoleko Kafeero (Nakifuma MP) was given 45-days to investigate the procurement process, contract and payment of $11 billion (Shs36.3 trillion) to CHEC by government.
The committee was also mandated to further probe why the contract for China Civil Engineering Corporation (CCEC) was terminated.
Dogged project
The SGR project has been plagued by controversy across the region with almost all the East African governments being forced to carry out reviews, especially on costs.
In Kenya for instance, a judge stopped the construction of the railway after a lawmaker objected to how people who will be displaced by the project were compensated. But the project has since continued.
