1/ With the High Court ruling this week that the Kenyan govt must release the #SGR contracts, we wanted to respond briefly to this article from @TC_Africa, and why it shouldn’t put Coast at ease. A thread: theconversation.com/mombasa-port-h… 
2/ The @TC_Africa piece says that Mombasa Port is not at risk if Kenya defaults on the #SGR loan. We’re not convinced for a couple of reasons. First, the analysis focuses on one very narrow point: the Auditor General’s apparent mislabeling of @Kenya_Ports as a borrower and ...
3/ … the definition of sovereign immunity. Fair enough. But despite this analysis, we can’t be 100% sure that KPA’s assets aren’t at risk without seeing the contracts. The article doesn’t tell us what happens if Kenya defaults. We simply don’t know & that’s very much by design.
4/ Second, why was @Kenya_Ports required to waive sovereign immunity if it’s not a borrower and not directly party to the primary contract? We don’t know the answer to this question either, but it’s worth asking. Another reason we need to see the contracts.
5/ That said, the Port possibly being collateral for the Chinese loan deal is only a small piece of the #SGR mess. For us, it has always been more about the project's impact on Coast’s economy & jobs. It could’ve been a boon, but it’s been a bust.
6/ Our other issues with #SGR include inept & corrupt planning/construction/operation of the project, the insane amounts of debt w/ no return, illegal implementation of the cargo directives, lack of transparency and a lack of public participation.
7/ #SGR is a top-down boondoggle project designed to enrich a select elite, with the rest of us to be damned. It’s a poster child for bad governance and corruption in Kenya. Possibly losing the Port in the event of default would just be icing on a very unappetizing cake.
8/ Bottom line, we’re all in the dark. It’s disingenuous to make conclusive claims that the Port is not collateral based on limited info. Until we see the contracts, it’s all speculation. That's the real headline for @TC_Africa & that’s why we want the gov to #ShowUsTheContracts.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
