Amid a row over the government’s sudden halt in its plans to extend the Standard Gauge Railway to Kisumu, Transport Cabinet Secretary has come out to clear the air.
According to the CS, the government is in favor of the Naivasha-Malaba line as opposed to the promised Naivasha-Kisumu, due to the cost effectiveness of the Malaba line.
CS Macharia said the Kisumu line would require about Sh70 billion for rehabilitation.
Transport CS James Macharia explains why government abandoned Naivasha-Kisumu railway line in favour of Naivasha-Malaba line pic.twitter.com/zOASNxCH38
— Daily Nation (@dailynation) May 15, 2019
This comes after opposition leader Raila Odinga appealed on Tuesday appealed to media platforms to stop spreading “propaganda” on why the project was halted.
“The media has been coming up with all sorts of propaganda, and I don’t why our media is so negative,” Raila said.
Raila Odinga finally speaks about what happened in China, SGR loan pic.twitter.com/pb9GARhhQc
— Nairobi News (@Nairobi_News) May 14, 2019
The failure of the Kisumu line extension faced backlash all over both mainstream and online media, with the likes of controversial ex-Nairobi gubernatorial candidate Miguna Miguna claiming that Raila’s trip to China was an epic failure, which resulted in the cancelled project.
The People's Con-man: Keep your hoaxes to yourselves. The Chinese trip failed. You returned empty handed. You and your despotic friends have looted Kenya to death. Uhuru's minions already confessed that they don't have funds for the Naivasha-Kisumu SGR. Stop peddling voodoo. https://t.co/4dikRmR7Y9
— Dr. Miguna Miguna (@MigunaMiguna) May 13, 2019