Cecil Miller, argued that the order of stay was occasioning massive daily losses of Sh37,600,000 on account of idle equipment and a workforce of 1,600 personnel, yet 70 per cent of the works on the property were already completed. Mr Miller added that while the petitioner’s claim was for compensation of the property, the orders served no legal purpose towards the enforcement of the petitioner’s claims. “The orders as oppressive do not serve any public interest as huge amounts of public funds had already been spent on the project including consultancies, mobilisation of human resources and plant and machinery. “They are delaying the project and are likely to induce breach of contract which will result in high penalties, huge financial losses,” he submitted. If the claims made by the corporation in its defence are true, then it means taxpayers will have footed an extra Sh5 billion for the construction of the Sh327 billion project, which has already been dogged by claims of over pricing of land acquisition. MORE MONEY President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is relying on the project to be one of Jubilee government’s key successes, has perpetually said it is on course and the phase between Mombasa and Nairobi will be completed by June next year. This will be just two months to election. It was thought that the case by Africa Gas and Oil and Miritini Free Port would trigger a domino effect down the line as more aggrieved property owners line up cases against the contractor, the land commission, and the Attorney-General. So far, other than the two firms, none other had come forth. On Monday, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said the government will spend an extra Sh49 billion for electrification of the railway. This article was published by the SUNDAY NATION on November 27, 2016]]>
