AttendantsofMombasa-NairobiSGRaretrainedbyaChineseinstructor.TherailwayhasprovidedjobopportunitiesforlocalsJacklineNzula,a33-yearoldresidentinNairobi,isamotheroftwoyoungchildren.SheusedtotakepublicbustransporttotravelfromNairobitoMombasatwiceamonthtovisitrelativesandtransactbusiness.
Aone-waytripbyroadbetweenKenya’scapitalanditssecondlargestcityonthecoastwouldtakeherbetweenseventoninehours.ThatwasbeforetheMombasa-NairobiStandardGaugeRailway(SGR)wascompletedandthepassengertrainserviceinauguratedonMay31,2017.ItnowtakesNzulaalmosthalfofthattimetotravelthedistanceof480km.
“Itnowmeansthatbusinessdealsaredonefasterandtheeconomygrows.Younolongerhavetorentaplacetosleepatnightandcompleteyourbusinessthenextday.Everythingcanbedoneonthesameday,”saidNzula,whohasherfingersinseveralbusinessventures.
Asasmall-scalefruitvendor,shebuyscoconutsatlowpricesandthenreturnstoNairobitoselleachcoconutataprofitof39percent.
ShealsosellsfishinNairobi.“IgetthefishfromthecoastandsellthematagoodprofitinNairobi.AlltheprofitsImakearewithinthesamedayandmyproduceremainsfresh,”sheadded.
Nzulasaidbeforetherailwaywasbuilt,shehadtosellherproduceatbargainpricesbecauseshecouldnotkeepitfreshafterthelongtraveltime.Sheexplainedthatbecauseofthemoreconvenienttransport,onaverage,shenowmakesadailyprofitofaboutfourtimesherpreviousamount.
“Onaverage,Imake2,000Kenyanshillings($20)perweek.Butbeforetherailwaylinewasbuilt,Iwouldjustmake500shillings($5)perweek,”saidNzula,whoaddedthenewlinehasnotonlyhelpedherbusiness,butalsomadeiteasierforherandherfamilytovisitrelativesonthecoast.
Jobcreator
AccordingtostatisticsoftheMinistryofTransport,Infrastructure,HousingandUrbanDevelopmentofKenya,Nzulaisamongthe1millioncommuterstravelingonthenewrailwaytothecoasteachweekfordifferentreasons.
Manylong-distancebuscompaniesarebeginningtolowertheirfaresasmoreandmorepeoplecontinuetodependontheMombasa-NairobiSGR,includingtourists.
“Onaverage,itonlycosts700shillings($7)foraone-waytripusingtherailwaycomparedto1,000shillings($10)forroadservices[despiteroadtransportcostsbeinglowered],dependingonthetimeoftheyear,”saidKimaniMuchiriofKenyaRailwaysCorp.,whichmanagesthecountry’sentirerailwaynetwork.
AccordingtoJamesMacharia,CabinetSecretary(Minister)ofTransport,Infrastructure,HousingandUrbanDevelopmentofKenya,theMombasa-NairobiSGRhasprovidedthousandsofjobssinceitbeganoperation.
“Astheeconomycontinuestogrow,over176,000directandindirectjobshavebeencreatedsincetherailwaylinebegancommercialoperationsoneyearago,”saidMacharia.“Alsoimportantly,anadditional19,000peopleworkedontheentireSGRprojectbeforecompletion.Another8,000workedundersub-contractors.Iamgladtosaythatmostremainedaspermanentemployees.”
HarrisMule,aveteranKenyaneconomist,saidthatifcorruptioninKenyaishandledeffectivelyinthecomingyears,therailwayisacertainjobgenerator.
“Itisimportanttomanagecorruptioneffectively.Itisthebestwayofseeingeconomicbenefits.Atleast1millionjobscanbecreated.Self-employmentandbusinessstartupswillcropupanddifferentindustrieswillemerge,”saidMule,whopreviouslyservedingovernmentasapermanentsecretaryofMinistryofFinance.
Mule,whoisalsoaconsultantforseveraluniversitiesandinternationalthinktanks,saidthatmorethan$5.2billionworthoftradehasalreadypassedthroughtheMombasa-Nairobiroute,creatingmanyindirectjobs.
JuliusMuia,DirectorGeneraloftheKenyaVision2030DeliverySecretariat,agovernmentagencyputinplacein2012tooverseeKenyabecominganindustrializedcountryby2030,said,“KenyanprofessionalshavebeenexposedtonewandexcitingopportunitiesatvariousstationsfromMombasatoNairobi.”
Accordingtohim,additionaltechnicaljobshavebeencreatedasneedsoftheimpendingmaintenanceworkonthenewmodernizedlinecontinuestoincrease.
Muiasaidtheseneedsincluderegularrepairandmaintenanceofthelocomotives,coaches,freightwagonsandtheinstalledsignalingsystems.
Environmentalconcerns
WithKenyabeingacountrysoblessedwithanabundanceofwildlife,itcameasnosurprisethatoneofthemajorchallengestotherailwayhasbeenenvironmentalactivistsgoingtocourttopreventtherailwayfrominitiallybeingconstructed.
“Evenafterenvironmentalassessmentfeasibilitystudieshavebeendone,andprovedsuccessful,manypeoplerushedtocourttoopposethehistoricalproject.Thishasderailedconstructionschedulesofotherroutes,”saidMacharia.
Headdedthattheoldrailwaylinefromthesame[Mombasa-Nairobi]routewasmoreofathreattowildlife,especiallyelephants,thanthecurrentone.
“ForthenewMombasa-Nairobiroute,eightpassageshavebeenbuilttoconnectthetwoTsavos[TsavosEastandWestNationalParks].TheKenyaWildlifeServicedidstudiestodeterminetheefficacyofthesepassagesasnewmigratoryroutesforelephants,”saidMacharia.
“SeveralelephantswerefittedwithGPScollartransmitterstodeterminetheeffectivenessofthepassages.Todate,nothinghasevershownwildlife[routes]beinginterrupted,”hesaid.
Whileactivistssaidtheraisedrailwaythroughtheparkswillaffectanimals’routesandbreedinggrounds,Machariasaidthatsomeofthesepassagesundertheelevatedrailway,ashighas10metersinpart,haveallowedanimalstopassfreelytotheirdestinations.
TsavoEastandTsavoWestNationalParkshavealmost50percentofKenya’selephantpopulationof13,000,accordingtolastyear’scensusoftheKenyaWildlifeService.
ReportingfromKenya
Commentsto