Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Wu Peng has dispelled concerns by most Kenyans that China wold seize Kenyan assets over defaulted loans.
Speaking on Tuesday, Amb. Peng asserted that there are no secret clauses in the loans contract between China and Kenya and that Kenyans should bear no fears over the debt.
“I can assure you that any loan agreements between China and Kenya are in line with common international best practice. None of Kenya’s national assets has been mortgaged for the SGR loan, neither would any single Kenyan national assets be seized nor controlled by China, even in a situation of default,” Peng stated.
Read: Raila to Accompany Uhuru on Trip to China to Seek Ksh368 Billion SGR Expansion Loan
The envoy’s utterances comes at a time when the country speculates that there could have been secret clauses on the loan agreement that Kenya Ports Authority and the Kenya Railway Corporation were part of the asserts to be seized if Kenya defaults on the Chinese loans.
Peng further asserted that Kenya is a sovereign State that is protected by International laws and such fears should be eliminated.
Also read: President Uhuru Set to Travel to China to Secure Ksh380 Billion Loan
He noted that such allegations against China were unfounded.
The envoy added that the two governments have been reluctant to divulge the details of the contracts due to two obstacles which are of commercial interests to Chinese banks and companies involved.
Peng also expressed his optimism that Kenya will eventually offset the debt, affirming that the projects the loans financed are many and promising.
Also read: KOT Troll Raila Odinga’s Trip To China For Ksh368 Billion SGR Loan
According to ambassador Wu, the building of Mombasa-Nairobi SGR has driven Kenya’s economic growth by 1.5 per cent and created 46,000 jobs for local residents.
Also, the SGR operation shortened the Nairobi-Mombasa trip from over 10 hours to 5 hours.
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