The government needs to explain the economic and logistical benefits of extending the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to Kisumu County, senators have said.

In a statement read on the floor of the House, Senator Tom Ojienda (Kisumu) sought to know the impact of the SGR project on trade, industrialisation and job creation.

“The [Senate’s Roads and Transport Committee] should state whether there are plans to integrate SGR with Kisumu Port and other transport networks,” said Ojienda.

The lawmaker also wants the committee to establish the status of feasibility studies and project timelines, highlighting any challenges or obstacles affecting the implementation of the project.

“The committee should clarify whether the government has secured funding for the project,” he said.

“If so, provide details of the specific sources of funding, including international lenders, bilateral agreements or PPP, outlining terms of engagement, repayment plans and any conditions attached to funding.”
Ojienda also sought to know the number of people expected to be displaced along the planned SGR route to avoid a repeat of previous mistakes, adding that the committee should provide details on resettlement and compensation plans developed by the Kenya Railways Corporation.

“The committee should explain the mechanisms in place to ensure fair, timely and transparent compensation for those affected, highlighting steps taken to engage and consult the affected communities.”

Parliament and the SGR must put pressure on the Executive to roll out the rail line while understanding it as a new way to expand the economy of Kenya, said Senate Majority Whip Boni Khalwale (Kakamega).

Trading partner

He argued that Kenya’s largest trading partner is Uganda and that SGR must run all the way to Malaba through Webuye and Bungoma.

“That is the route for doing business. The Executive cannot afford to be doing things half-heartedly,” Khalwale said.

“The current SGR is useless. It is a slow thing. We must invest in electric trains. The modern way of transporting goods is guided by speed, and the speed that will make a difference is one of an electric train. Why we are not developing the electric train, only God knows.”

He went on: “Governors are not doing us a favour. The governor of Nairobi has lost focus. The purpose of the governor is not to feed people. His purpose is to open up the economy of Nairobi. Sakaja should not be talking about ‘chapatis’. He should be talking about underpasses, overpasses and metros. That is the future.”

The idea of extending the SGR to Kisumu should be pursued, said Eddy Oketch (Migori), adding that it should be extended to Malaba, on the border of Kenya and Uganda.

“The SGR is a serious economic stimulus project that will open up the country. The Mariakani border is a very important part for services and goods running around the country and across the continent,” he said.

The SGR “was thought to be an efficient means of transport predominantly for goods, but now it is becoming a critical integration [method] for moving labour in our country.”

The project will ease the movement of people and goods, John Methu (Nyandarua) adding that it is economically viable.

The metre-gauge railway line between Gilgil (Nakuru) and Ol Kalou (Nyahururu), Methu said, was rehabilitated but is not being used.
“We have a magnificent railway terminus at Ol Kalou. We only see it as a white elephant,” he said.

“It was done, commissioned and opened but there is nothing to show for it, yet the money of the people of Kenya was spent on these projects. We cannot just abandon [the projects] because they were started by Uhuru Kenyatta.”

He went on: “These are capital projects. These are not small projects like that of one million chapatis, for instance. A lot of government money has been pumped into these capital projects.”

Preliminary plans indicate that the SGR will not pass through the Luanda-Maseno-Lela-Luanda route, said Godfrey Osotsi (Vihiga), arguing that using a different route would make the project more costly.

“It will mean that you will have to compensate the land owners along the route and yet we already have railway land, all the way from Kisumu to Luanda,” he said.

“I wonder why Kenya Railways has decided to avoid that route and they are using alternative routes, which effectively means that the Kisumu-Luanda portion will be left out of this project.”

Luanda advantages

The Luanda area, Osotsi argued, has more advantages than just land, adding that the government recently launched an industrial park, meaning that locally made products will be transported easily by railway to different parts of the world.

“This project needs to be re-looked at. The project is already showing signs of high costs because the planners of this SGR are trying to divert the railway line to areas where they can have land negotiated and bought,” he said.

“This will leave out areas that already have land, like the patch between Lela, Maseno and Luanda.”

The government spent excessively on the SGR project from Mombasa to Nairobi and Naivasha and no one knows the details of the agreement under which it was built, said Richard Onyonka (Kisii).

“I hope that the government will realise that the SGR from Mombasa to Nairobi has a bad name,” he said Onyonka.

Kenya, he added, should compare what other countries in the East African region spent on rail projects and see whether there was value for money.