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| Section of the SGR |
By Donald Agwenge
The standard gauge railway was a conception of the Grand Coalition Government, a flagship project that was imbued in the Vision 2030 economic blueprint that would make Kenya rise to the league of middle level economies. First funded by the government of President Uhuru in 2013, the project was highly criticized by poll loser Raila Odinga, his ODM party and Mombasa governor Hassan Joho, who owns cargo logistics companies in Mombasa. The critics argued that the line was costly, a non-priority and meant a shift of economic base from the port of Mombasa to the interior, thus denying the cost dwellers opportunities for investments and jobs. Seven years of noise is over, and the standard gauge metallic snake stops it zoom at Naivasha, never to reach its intended destination!
Railway lines faced different hurdles before and during their constructions. From the wooden lines of the America, to the Blue Belt of the Rainbow nation and our own Kenya-Uganda railway and now the train road to nowhere – the standard gauge railway. Such remonstrance did not stop the implementers of such railway projects to stop the work; neither did they stop them from seeking solutions. The threats faced by these renowned lines are tenfold bigger than the small rants that (may) have stopped the SGR at Naivasha.
Our meter gauge Kenya-Uganda railway took several years between 1896 and 1907 to reach Kampala. The Indian builders faced a lot of problems ranging from tropical diseases like Malaria, tsetse fly infestation and the man eating lions of the Tsavo that attacked the rail builders in 1898 when the line was about to cross the river Tsavo. There was unmatched hostility from the Maasai who were on a revenge mission after two Maa girls were raped by the builders. They retaliated by killing over 600 builders. The little known Kedong massacre also claimed several lives of the builders and led to loss and destruction of construction materials. The sum of all these ills did not even bring a thought of stopping the construction of the line. There must have been a hidden treasure in the construction of the line.
The nation of France has the Blue Coast railway line, one of the most stupendous feats of civil engineering across the globe. The line which cuts mainly and deeply through Marseille was built on a hilly and rugged terrain, with parts of it hugging and kissing the Mediterranean Sea, with several expensive underground tunnels, bridges, spectacular viaducts and more investments to give it stability in the shaky soils of the limestone and dolomite calanques. The reason for all these was to open up the areas for trade and tourism.
Closer home, we have heard of the Tanzania Zambia Railway, the longest railway line in Africa, which was built through funds solicited from China. What would be the significance of China offering about 2.6 billion dollars towards the construction of this line which, just like other rail lines, had its own share of challenges? The biggest amongst them being shortage of funds. This scarcity came at a time when the cold war was at its peak and most Western powers and the World Bank were unwilling to pump money into this project. State ministers from Zanzibar persuaded China to fund the project, putting President Nyerere in a tough situation with the West. Nyerere’s response when asked about his dalliance with China corroborates the fact that there is a silver lining behind every railway line. “…all the money in this world is either red or blue. I do not have my own green money, so where can I get some from? Am not taking a cold war position, all I want is money to build it. (The railway)
The rail network in any part of the world was the foundational basis of the economy. Boosting trade, enhancing mobility of labour and capital are among the key significance of the railway lines. Nairobi City was a depot for railway workers, just like other urban centers which developed because of the line. The Imperial British East Africa Company defied the many odds during the construction of the Kenya-Uganda railway because they knew it was the only way of remaining relevant in global trade. Writing in the book, ‘The Lunatic Express’, Charles Miller says, “Whatever power dominates Uganda masters the Nile, the masters of the Nile rules Egypt, the ruler of Egypt holds the Suez Canal.” The gateway between Europe and the world then was the Suez Canal. To remain relevant in World trade and to compete with the economic powerhouses, the railway had to be built whatever may!
Kenya and China must get back to the strings of history before pulling out of the deal to have the railway reach Kisumu and subsequently Malaba and Kampala. The Standard Gauge railway was the only way the government of Kenya would re-establish the economy of western Kenya which has nosedived since the collapse of the Rift Valley railways. It would best connect the horticulture rich town of Naivasha and Nakuru County as a whole with the airport in Kisumu, giving the exporters of perishables an alternative from the much busier airports at the capital. The railway would blossom the economies of the agricultural counties bordering it, giving them a pipeline into the export processing zones and reawakening the ghost cities along the lines- as depot hubs and bases of economic resurrection.
The Chinese are again tied in another moment of cold war. For them to survive, they must rethink whether to finance the last phase of the line to Kisumu. The remarks of President Nyerere can resurface in Nairobi, this time working against Beijing, throwing Kenya into the arena for alternative funding from Chinese rivals from the West especially the United States. The current political situation in the country will never settle for anything less. The masses are ready to push the leadership to look for money from any corner to ensure the line reaches Kisumu.
The fact that the SGR will not reach Kisumu should be viewed as a delay of a new economic frontier to the national economy. A leadership that is keen towards enjoying the economic and strategic benefits of the completion of this project will ever strive to see the standard gauged iron snake reach Kisumu. A middle income Kenyan economy will be premised on a faster and efficient railway line, which must come at whatever cost!
As things stand right now, Kenyans are unhappy travelling from Mombasa to nowhere via the SGR, the scenes of elephants as the trains roar across the Tsavo never makes them excited as well, with their main disappointment on their journey to Kisumu being the many white elephants being showcased by the ministry of transport.
Standard Gauge railway will remain atop the failures of Jubilee government if it never reaches Kisumu, where it was supposedly meant to transport Gor Mahia fans to watch their team play at the other promised five stadia, the white elephants attractions of our era!
The Writer is a Student , a Pan-Africanist and a Community Mobilizer for development. Email donnargss@gmail.com www.starboymedia.com
Good piece.Diction however exposes the author.
Hahahah. Diction