The state of Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) management is worsening as sunrises and sunsets.From Racial and Gender discrimination,Cartels deploying ‘Middlemen’ in squandering tickets,Salary payment Abracadabra to Kenyan workers all which Transport CS James Wainaina Macharia calls Minor part of the major achievement.This statement connects dots on my previous unearthing of this project which was launched prematurely for political mileage to the government which is eying another term in office (https://www.kenyainsights.com/remorseful-fruits-from-premature-launch-of-standard-gauge-railway-sgr/).
The Dozier and alert i gave has unmasked multiple branches of injustices and frustrations to poor Kenyans for the benefit of Cartels who are codon wobbled with Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC)Staff and China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC).
Tickets Saga
Booking offices are opened by 7am but passengers have to be in the queue by 5am not to miss ‘abundant’ tickets.These are those booking in advance following last minute rush repercussions.According to my source,be it you were in the queue by 5am you are at larger percentage to miss the ticket reason being they have been all sold out an act which seems bogus but it’s Cartels coordinating. One trip transports 1200 passengers with First class paying Ksh3000 while Economy Class paying Ksh700 and the Madaraka express makes 2 trips per day from Nairobi-Mombasa and vise versa.For the last two weeks in Miritini and Syokimau terminals passengers have been experiencing the heat of middlemen sponsored by Cartels in coordination with Chinese firm.Tickets were being sold at least Ksh1500 and highest at Ksh2000 for Economy Class which has always been the target being that’s the space majority can afford.These tickets get their way from booking offices before sunrises and reappears in possession of brokers who targets stranded passengers who got no Umbrella but to get deeper in their pockets to secure a chance.
Why would KRC and CRBC allow one to buy more than authorised tickets to an individual?Can 1200 tickets be sold within half an hour in a manual process with less than 10 servers? Don’t Transport CS James Wainaina Macharia and KRC boss Atanas Maina have clue about these? Sincerely a Terminal sweeper has no power of manipulation to conduct such deals and therefore who are answerable to these are the top leadership.
After this ongoing circus is when the management thinks of Online booking and which they are stupidly afraid of ‘hacking’,providing money transfer services than cash payment on spot.The reluctance of CRBC and KRC to apply both is not lack of resources or fear of hacking but the Big money syndrome getting into individuals banks.
Salaries Abracadabra
On Thursday 3rd August 2017 demonstrating at CRBC in Syokimau were workers demanding for their delayed July salaries.The cause of this tortoise according to the CRBC management was,’Our campany is debugging the salary system all information input and salary calculation depend on manual calculation at present’ Furthermore,’Because the newly added Kenyan staff are numerous,their personal bank accounts needs a great deal of time’
Still the psychological mishandlement of these workers are not enough to the point of extension of psychological torture to their families who depend on them for daily bread.
Racial and Gender Discrimination
The dominance of Chinese under China Road and Bridge Corporation(CRBC) which was catalysed by radar less Kenya Railways Corporation(KRC) management led by Atanas Maina who because of ‘just a technical hitch’ when the train broke down in Kibwezi sometimes back led to signing of 10 year contract with China Road and Bridge Corporation for total management of the SGR project when if humble time would have been taken,the manpower needed would have been provided by our own Kenyans.
Information reaching my desk links CRBC Human Resource Boss Navy Wang has been in the forefront of discriminating Kenyan employees.This is evident in a statement he made and as was reported by pioneer students,’You Kenyans are very many and desperate for jobs,so this is a favour we are doing for you’.This statement was categorical and if suppose was uttered out of anger then we thank God.Doing us a favour in our own land,with our own resource? However much KRC boss is trying to downplay this malpractices as just minor issues in a major achievement links him to the bandwagon of Cartels running the SGR.Being that full management of SGR is under the Chinese firm by chance they are taking advantage of creating more job opportunities not for Kenyans but thou themselves.
These Kenyan employees Social media life is being monitored step by step like any other employer would do but the terrible scenario is they are not allowed to talk to press which if anyone surpass then automatic discontinuation of contract.During preparation exercise of this project,a number of Kenyans Locomotive Operators travelled to China for further training and among them were seven female Locomotive operators who knew on coming back,the operation of the SGR which specifically included Steering of the train as drivers will collectively be done by them but that was just a invalid dream.
Before signing of the contract,the management and operation of SGR was fully to be Kenya Railways Corporation and Kenyans themselves,that’s what we believed but all these were just fabrications.During the launch of project by President Uhuru Kenyatta with his Deputy William Ruto who bordered the train from Mombasa to Nairobi for media show,these female Locomotive operators or rather drivers were shifted by the Chinese immediately after posing for a picture with the President and for the media.They were bench warmed at the Cockpit with other four Chinese on the similar duty just to watch and perform some errands.This was witnessed when train 5301 which President was inn,was captured being steered by Chinese when it stopped in Syokimau station.The source further states how they are treated as amateurs and are described as just assistant operators whereby their work is to stay in the cockpit and do some errands.
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