The contractor of the second phase of standard gauge railway has denied claims its blasting activities caused major cracks on the walls of Oloosirkon Primary School in Kajiado.
SGR Phase 2A project spokesperson Steve Zhao on Wednesday said in a statement the school has experienced disruptions in learning after classrooms developed cracks.
In July last year, the Star toured the school and revealed that the walls of nearly all the classrooms had deep cracks, exposing pupils to danger.
Head teacher Patrick Mbui had raised concern to authorities over the safety of the pupils.
Kajiado East MP Peris Tobiko visited the school.
On Wednesday, Zhao said they had received complaints from the insitution.
"We would wish to state that upon receipt of complaints from the school administration concerning the blasting mid last year, China Communications Construction Company deployed a team of skilled engineers and surveyors who visited the school and analysed the situation on the ground," he said.
Zhao said it was established that the cracks on the walls of Oloosirkon Primary were not as a result of the blasting activities.
He said the thorough investigations showed that the school was out of the blasting radius.
During our tour, the headteacher was adamant the contractor's activities would soon bring down the classrooms.
Mbui was concerned he would shoulder the blame should the classroom walls collapse on the pupils.
Zhao, however, said the mess will be corrected.
"In the spirit of CSR (corporate social responsibility) under our Imarika na SGR campaign, representatives from the CCCC SGR Section 1 site office in Ngong held a meeting last July to discuss proposed CSR activities to be carried out at Oloosirkon Primary and narrowed down on donating funds to construct three classrooms," Zhao said.
He said the move will address the current pressing need of the school.
"Once this idea was presented to Oloosirkon Primary School, an agreement was signed between CCCC SGR and Tonik Contractors Limited, a sub-contractor who was proposed by Oloosirkon Primary to carry out the construction work," he said.
The construction of the 3-235 cubic meter classrooms officially commenced on April 19.
They are yet to be handed over for use by the students.
"We strive to ensure that the SGR project not only promotes seamless transport and connectivity in Kenya but also brings good tidings to the communities living along the corridor," he said.
"We hope to continue enjoying a peaceful living and working environment for the overall success of the project."
Edited by R.Wamochie
