Two consultants hired to review a contract for mapping Kenya’s mineral resources have made a damning assessment of the capacity of the Chinese firm picked for the job.
In their presentation to the National Assembly’s Committee on the Environment, the UK and Canadian firms said GETI, the Chinese contractor, lacks the expertise to conduct the aerial survey which will set back the Kenyan taxpayers some Sh7 billion.
Two consultants hired to review a contract for mapping Kenya’s mineral resources have made a damning assessment of the capacity of the Chinese firm picked for the job.
In their presentation to the National Assembly’s Committee on the Environment, the UK and Canadian firms said GETI, the Chinese contractor, lacks the expertise to conduct the aerial survey which will set back the Kenyan taxpayers some Sh7 billion.
As if throwing such a huge amount of money at a firm with suspect credentials weren’t bad enough, there are also security concerns that Kenya risks losing its mineral wealth data to third parties in the process.
Hopefully, the parliamentary hearing and the committee report will set the stage for a comprehensive investigation by relevant agencies to verify the consultants’ account and an appropriate remedy.
But the red flag by the consultants already raises serious accountability questions about the competence or integrity of the officials involved in the procurement of the deal.
Only failed nations put their mineral wealth and other key resources at the risk of being auctioned to third parties so recklessly.
Following the consultants’ verdict on the aerial survey contract, Kenyans need a believable reassurance from the government that the country’s mineral resources are in safe hands today and in the future.
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