Kenya railways on the spot over payment of ksh 1bn SGR compensation to inexistent individuals
Lawmakers have paid Kenya Railways (KRC) three months to compensate 1 billion shillings paid as compensation to homeless people affected by the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR)
Payment details for persons not approved by the Kenya Railways Corporation are contained in the 24th Report on Government Agencies and the Public Investment Committee (PIC) submitted to the National Assembly.
According to the report, out of the 12 billion shillings used for land compensation in phase 1 of the SGR project, shillings 1,043,439,897 were paid to the people affected by the project without the required documents such as map copies, IDs, certificates of secrecy and issuance of title deeds from the National Land Commission.
The committee, chaired by Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir, also sued the Kenya Railways for overpayment.
According to the report, shillings 15,752,406 were paid to the victims who were entitled to only 1,082,658 shillings resulting in an additional payment of shillings 14,669,748.
The committee noted that despite the fact that the leadership made efforts to recover the most paid funds, only 5,698,770 shillings were recovered.
“The committee recommends that the KRC Accountant ensure that the balance of the surcharge is fully repaid within three months after the approval of this report,” the report read..
The fate of the Kenya Railways’ 200 million shillings held at Chase Bank, which has been deposited at the cash register, is also unknown as the report says the company did not cooperate with the bank to provide the money.
The report states that the last contact between Kenya Railways and the bank was on July 22, 2020, with the lender saying the company had not handed over the money.
There is also a dispute between the two entities over the exact amount. With Kenya Railways claiming 204 million shillings, Chase Bank says it has 200 million shillings.
“The KRC Accountant must ensure that all KRC deposits in Chase Bank are returned,” the report read.
The committee also reported a possible loss of 194 million shillings which was included in the Kenya Railway Corporation’s balance sheet and described as transitional revenue for the Rift Valley Railways (RVR) as it did not have supporting documents.
The report also noted that various plots valued at 24 million shillings belonging to the railway company were distributed to private developers, without the company’s approval, whether by the land commissioner or by the local local authorities.
For example, farms within Limuru Center comprising nine industrial farms number 7882 / 2-10 and three farms within Kikuyu Station measuring approximately two acres and farms near Mombasa measuring approximately 0.75 acres per acre were allotted to the owners. personally. regular developers, some being developed. In addition, 529 other farms had been illegally dispatched across the country.
However, the committee noted that of these, the Kenya Railways had requested court intervention to seize only 27 parcels, leaving the fate of the others unknown.
The report is expected to be considered by Parliament this week before being suspended indefinitely before the general election.
