Raila Reveals His Priority Project in New Role and it is Not Migingo Island

The say that charity begins at home seem to mean nothing to opposition Chief Raila Odinga. Despite calls for him to first develop the Migingo Island in his new role, the new AU envoy for infrastructure has revealed that his major concern right now is to ensure that the Trans-African Highway project that was launched in 1971 is completed.

The Trans-African project is a network of nine highways which, when connected, will cover a combined total of 60,000 kilometers across the continent.

“One of them will stretch 8,000 kilometers between Cairo (Egypt) and Dakar (Senegal); another for 8,000 kilometers between Cairo and Cape Town; a third for 6,000 kilometers between Lagos and Mombasa; and a fourth for 4,700 kilometers between Dakar and Lagos (Nigeria),” said Mr Odinga.

According to Mr. Odinga, only one of nine highways has been completed so far.

“That is the Trans-Sahelian Highway, which runs 4,500 kilometers between Dakar in Senegal and N’Djamena in Chad. Although the others are only partially finished, countries are progressively opening them section-by-section. It is just one example of what we plan to complete,” he said in his address at Duke University in the US

“I strongly believe that the existence of a reliable infrastructure of roads and railways, running North to South, East to West of Africa, is critical to opening up the Continent and making it the gateway to the 21st century,” he added.

“I accepted the appointment as AU’s High Representative for Infrastructure Development Championing to spearhead the modernisation and upgrading of selected Trans African Highway Corridors and their missing links,” he said.

Raila’s appointment by the AU has been met by mixed reactions with many welcoming it while others have advised him to retire from active olitics and focus on his new role.

ODM Party officials from Nairobi have told politicians demanding retirement of the former prime minister from politics following his appointment by the AU to hold their horses. They have said that Raila will be in politics for the longest time possible as long as God keep’s him alive meaning that there is great possibility that he will be on the ballot come 2022.

Led by Mathare MP Antony Oluoch & Nairobi County Vice Chairman Ochieng Jera, the officials said at the moment, Raila Odinga is concentrating on building bridges to fix the mess in the County as well as working for the continent’s infrastructural Development.

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