It is rare that one gets a chance to praise politicians, but underneath all the bluster, scheming and chicanery, one can sometimes detect some form of wisdom among them.
The fact that it doesn’t happen more often can only be attributed to traits like venality, conspiracy, tunnel vision and myopia to the human condition.
The revival of an old railway line that traverses four counties in the Mt Kenya region is one bright exception to this trend due to its huge potential.
The line was built in 1908, but in our collective wisdom, we let it die.
This inspired notion is a welcome departure from the behemoth infrastructure projects that have become popular nowadays because they provide a ready-made avenue for well-established rent-collectors and thieves.
MEGA PROJECTS
The revival of the Nairobi-Nanyuki railway line should be ample proof that development need not be all about mega projects that consume billions of shillings without many benefits for those who eventually foot the bill.
This project is associated with the second Nyeri governor, Dr Wahome Gakuru, before he died in November 2017 in a road accident whose circumstances have never been fully resolved.
A renowned economist who was said to have been the brains behind the brilliant Vision 2030 blueprint, Dr Gakuru transferred his vision to the economic well-being of his county and others in the region.
It is to the credit of those who succeeded the first lot of governors that they were not held back by self-interest. They embraced the concept and the project is already bearing fruit.
The project was informed by the need to open up Kiambu, Murang’a, Nyeri, Kirinyaga and Laikipia counties. This is a fertile region once rich in coffee and tea but now lush with avocado, banana and other fruit plantations.
Some of the towns along this line, especially Ruiru and Thika, are also industrial hubs of note. Farmers and manufacturers, who were incurring heavy losses via road transport, now have some relief.
PASSENGER SERVICES
The beauty of the project is that it will also offer passenger services. This should be good for those who want to view the countryside in its virgin state.
From the sameness of the overpopulated Kiambu County to the rolling hills of Murang’a; from the lush greenery of Nyeri to the rich savannah grassland of Laikipia, such a trip should be interesting indeed.
It is one that I fully intend to take as a domestic tourist once counties are re-opened after Covid-19. Right now, folks from Nairobi and its surroundings are not really welcome anywhere.
The other exciting fact is that the railway line, through an extension to Isiolo, will join the ambitious Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) Corridor project, thus opening up trade opportunities in these eastern Africa countries. Lapsset, which has lately been incorporated as an African Union project, will certainly widen the market.
For our purposes here, it could mean that a banana farmer in Murang’a will easily transport her fruit to Juba in South Sudan or Dire Dawa in Ethiopia in future.
In the meantime, one of the major ironies in Kenya is that sporadic bouts of drought and food scarcity in parts of the country while other parts have bountiful harvests have been very common.
Due to lack of enabling transport infrastructure, such food is not distributed widely, occasioning great losses to farmers while the rest of the country goes without. This 178-kilometre railway line should ensure this does not continue happening.
This project is already raising hackles among them those who believe that the Mt Kenya region is enjoying unfair advantages over others, presumably because three of the country’s presidents have hailed from the region. This is nonsense.
What the critics conveniently forget is that the project is not meant to merely benefit a handful of tycoons; people who eke out a living on garden plots will also gain.
OFFERING SUPPORT
It will shut out middlemen transporters who charge the earth for each delivery, making food more expensive in cities like Nairobi.
As regional leaders weigh the benefits, a few outliers may regret offering support because they are not benefitting personally.
They should be ignored or dismissed. Though there is little room for the initiative’s finances to be gobbled up by ravenous individuals, it is to be hoped that mismanagement will not lead to its downfall.
As for the other counties, the sooner their governors decide what to do with their old rail lines, the better.
Amusing footnote: During the trial run for the passenger service a few weeks back, the train rammed into a car, dragging it for 200 metres.
The dignitaries gracing the occasion are said to have been deeply shaken but not harmed. One would hope that this is not a fitting pointer to what may happen to the noble project.
Mr Ngwiri is a consultant editor;
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