all the projects are funded by EXIIM bank, after the GOK signs a MOU with the PRC govt.

Am yet to read the whole article, but as a local engineer working in South Sudan, am obliged to reply.

First, the system is a mess. Thats is the engineering system in Kenya. If you have to do the Thika Road, you will be required to;

i. Study at University of Nairobi for your BSc. (this is so for you to be registered as an Engineer),

ii. practice under a very, very, very old engineer for at least 5 years ( the engineers act require only 3 years, but you wont't manage the professional interview with them)

iii. buy, copy and adjust project design reports, drawings and calculations from other 'non-registerable' well educated kenyans

iv. know someone in the interviewing panel,

v. Head to registrar of companies and register one,

vi. Head to Ministry of Roads and/or Public Works and register with them by forging work experience, machineries and staff members,

vii. Register with Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) and be classed in A-F Contractors (you can get any class depending with cash on hand)

viii. Tender and camp at the KeNHA and MoR offices for weeks to ensure you 'oil' the right people,

ix. hire, old, lazy, retired 'registered' engineers and young, fresh, confused, weakly trained engineering graduates,

x. Finally, add the project supervision team (engineers, technicians, accountants, surveyors etc) in to your pay roll, in different names and titles.

Then Thika Road will be 'COMPLETED' atleast 2 years after project completion date, 'everyone' will be happy and we just wait for POTHOLES in the onset of the first rains.

THIS SYSTEM SUCKS!

Very true, I agree 100%. It is for the same reason we may not achieve vision 2030. Take the southern bypass for example. This will cost 17b and it will be very hard for any notable part of the money to find its way in the Kenyan economy. The Chinese, once they win a contract, do not rent anyone’s house. They build camps with site offices and accommodation so they never leave this facility even on weekends – no spending on entertainment. All the cement will come from China. Most of the workers save for drivers and masons will come from China. In the final analysis, a huge portion of the 17b will find its way back to china and then you and I are left servicing the loan to the last cent. I have a feeling the large presence of Chinese contractors has led to depreciation of the shilling – every end month, these Chinese have to be paid in dollars. Not that I have a soft heart for Kenyan contractors , KURA and KENHA. They are responsible for this mess in the first place!

Truly, their are many issues that would need to be addressed in order to provide the necessary environment.

That is why it is after some analysis that we see those are the real problems that need to be addressed and the solution to those problems is not to bring in a foreign work force, it solves nothing, really.

In relation to you comment on Naikuni, I still believe we are capable of identifying a good CEO whether local or foreigner, they are there.

Excellent!!! that is what we are trying to say.

The best we can do for our youth is to create a "kazi kwa vijana" program and offer them slashers and rakes to cut grass a long the roads.

Remember that this is an entire government's initiative to combat youth unemployment. If that is not upumbavu, I don't know what is.

I still think we were not ready for a change in how we did business. If we had taken the way you recommend, we would be not more than a quarter way of where we are now. We needed the infrastructure done as a matter of urgency after the M01 debacle. The amount of business opportunities created have had a much bigger impact then the savings lost had we set up our own companies. As for the mid size contractors, only about 5% of Kenyan roads are tarmacked so there is still alot of room to grow with simpler project. The jokers we had in this industry did not even buy equipment but oped to 'share' despite all the billions they got.

That said, your idea is splendid, but the last 7 years were not its time. Maybe the next 10 years.

we've just lost 1.2billion to our local contractors after they repaired a roof of milimani courts. soon after the roof could not start aerials on top of them.nkt to nk mwaniki bros nkt to local contractors.thumbs up to chinese contractors

Good point, I will add some contact information.

I'm not on twitter at the moment, perhaps I should consider that at some point. I'm not sure what i'd be tweeting about

Great article brother. I would like to say that while I agree with your argument, I beg to differ on one point. This is how i see it...... The Chinese are not that great. There are competent and capable Kenyans , who love Kenya but have chose to stay away. Why, we may ask? because the system is broken. The chinese are able to build these magnificent structures simply because they have created a system that promotes these sort of achievements, and not because they possess an innate quality we don't. The problem in kenya is so wide spread that it will take an exceptional leader to bring meaningful change.
I say that we need to look at the chinese for the public-private partnership based system they have created and not for their expertise.I am sad that I am living in a lifetime that Africa is being colonized again and you wonder, don't we ever learn? the Kenyan policy makers are at heart of the problem. And so are the leaders and their ilk.How could they not see the chinese agenda? carrotts and sticks.

Nice way of thinking, and agree we should all be heading in that direction.

Problem is, in all deals there's no "free lunch". For Kenyan contractors, some hands have to fed in the name of corruption, while for the Chinese contractors, they have bigger things at stake such as resources (which I beleive are in the fine print of the agreements)