Lay off the railway, Uhuru tells cartels

President Uhuru Kenyatta (left) and Deputy President William Ruto address the Press at State House, Nairobi, on April 24, 2013. PHOTO | FILE 

By PSCU
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President Uhuru Kenyatta has urged the public to shun individuals whose interest in the standard gauge railway project is personal gain.

"The very notion of economic progress, such as we are working to achieve, is persistently threatened by conflict sparked and fuelled by commercial interest groups, be they local or international. We must tackle this hostile ideology whose character is ruthless, and method, insidious," he said on Tuesday.

He said businessmen, parliamentarians and members of the civil society should serve the good of Kenya rather their own self, or the interests of partisanship.

SHUN ATTACKS

Speaking during a Press conference at State House, Nairobi, the President said the project is above board and will go on as planned.

"If we want those achievements, we must shun arrogant attacks on the progress we wish to make, and we must be ready to sacrifice," he said.

Critics of the Sh425 million railway project claimed that the Government involved corrupt cartels in the tender process.

(READ: Making of a mega scandal? Why railway figures do not add up)

On Sunday, an advocacy group associated with the former anti-corruption czar John Githongo, wrote an open letter to President Kenyatta asking him to suspend the Mombasa-Malaba railway project until all questions that have been raised over the tender are answered.

The railway deal is also the subject of investigations by two parliamentary committees.

However, President Kenyatta has maintained that the project will be transparent and beneficial to all Kenyans.