Parliament has Tuesday declined discussing a damning report of the Committee on Physical Infrastructure on Uganda’s ambitious $12.8b (Shs46trillion) Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and Light Railway Transit project.
The report compiled by the committee of parliament chaired by Hon Dennis Sabiti (Rubanda County) had questioned the class of railway designed by Uganda, cost and capacity building of the project. His report alleged that Ugandan officials have designed a Chinese class 2 standard of SGR contrary to Class 1 they claim they are building.
Documents availed to parliament show that Uganda has indeed designed Chinese Class 1 as per the NCIP protocol. Kenya has also built Chinese Class 1.
According to the Chinese standards pamphlet, Class One railway is one that “plays the backbone role in railway network, or its annual passengers/freight traffic volume for near-term is more than or equal to 20 metric tons.
Aruu county Member of Parliament, Samuel Odonga Otto argued that: “The work done by the Hon. Sabiti’s Committee is not consistent with the developments made so far.’
He added, “Compensation is already going on. It becomes immaterial to listen to the Chairman of the committee of the last Parliament.”
Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah was not impressed and say MPs can debate the Infrastructure committee report without the select committee report from the 9th Parliament.
A Ministry Of Works top official said that MP Sabiti was simply trying to sabotage the multitrillion project. “The principle objective of SGR is to connect Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Sudan. There can’t be connection if these countries build different standards and that’s why the motive of report by the 10th parliament should be questioned by sane Ugandans,” the official who preferred not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter said.
Hon. Sabiti who is the chairman of the powerful infrastructure committee of the 10th parliament is a former commissioner in the Ministry Of Works and Transport and has previously been implicated in a report by the ministry while investigating corruption allegations a few years ago.
It will be remembered that the 9th parliament carried out an investigation on SGR. Today during the 32nd sitting of the 2nd meeting of the 1st session of the 10th Parliament of Uganda, the members preferred debating the report of the 9th parliament because the one of the current parliament was shallow and lacking in substance.
The technocrats from Standard Gauge Railway Project led by project coordinator, Mr Kasingye Kyamugambiwere were seen at Parliament providing documents to legislators that indicate factual information including protocols signed, MOUs and other documents that were not considered in Hon Sabiti’s SGR report.
Parliament has of recent been subject to heavy attacks by members of the public due to conduct by some members.
Mr Kasingye in a recent media session at their Nakawa offices said the SGR project will employ about 16,000 people [Ugandans] during the actual construction phase scheduled to commence later this year after land for the proposed right of way has been fully acquired and funding has been secured from China’s Exim Bank.
The multi-billion dollar project was conceived six years ago by President Museveni, Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta, South Sudan’s Salva Kiir and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame to facilitate economic integration.
