Gov't Blames Kenyan Workers Over Racism, Mistreatment Claims by Chinese Bosses at SGR

The government has appeared to shift the blame on Kenyan Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) workers over racism and mistreatment claims by Chinese bosses.

Speaking at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) on Wednesday, government spokesman Eric Kiraithe said Kenyans must gather the courage to tackle issues to do with work ethic.

Kiraithe, who was responding to the claims of harassment of Kenyan staffs at SGR, said the field requires high discipline, stating that "haki yetu" centred personalities have no place in the running of the Madaraka Express.

"I am not saying any worker should be discriminated and humiliated in the work place but we must all appreciate that the operations of a modern train is a profession that calls for military standard discipline."

"Inward looking, haki yetu (our right) centered personalities have no place in this kind of profession, [not now or in the future]. They are the first crop of Kenyans employed on this project and the culture they entrench will determine whether in less that 10 years we shall depend on them," he said.

"It would be very unfortunate if after the agreed period, we continue relying on expatriates. it is important that they shift their focus from short term diversions to the challenge at hand."

The spokesperson also noted that many organizations prefer hiring foreign workers due to bad work ethics by Kenyans.

"We don't need to do a lot of research to realise we are losing jobs to foreigners especially in civil engineering," he said. "I am not saying this to be an apologist. There is something we can learn from other cultures on project management."

He said the government will however investigate the claims and take action where necessary.

"We have put all measures to deal with these issues, but if you are a Kenyan who claim to have mistreated and you have not reported to police and have not reported to Fida, then you have to," Kiraithe said.