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East Africa: Railways' Grand Plan Will Spur Regional Development
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The Monitor (Kampala)
OPINION
6 May 2008
Posted to the web 6 May 2008
Mbatau Wa Ngai
A regional stakeholders meeting that took place in Nairobi last week could have far-reaching consequences for Eastern African provided their decisions will be taken up by their respective presidents and implemented.
Officials from the East African Community (EAC) met their counterparts from railways and their parent ministries from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to hear the results of a feasibility study they had commissioned to establish the viability of constructing 15 new lines under the EAC Railway Development Master Plan.
The feasibility study outlined precise financial and implantation details of the proposed project which provides for a vast network of additional railway lines within the region and linking it to neighbouring Ethiopia, Southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
It should no surprise considering its size that Tanzania would be the main beneficiary of the new railway lines should the ambitious project materialize. For besides the Isaka-Kigali line, eight new railway lines have been proposed within the country linking Tanzania with other countries.
Kenya would have two railway branches connecting it to its closest Horn of Africa neighbours, Ethiopia and Sudan. One of the proposed railway lines will connect Garissa town with Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, while the other will be connected from Lamu to Juba in Southern Sudan, again, through Garissa.
Under the plan, Uganda would be the best connected country in the region creating immense opportunities provided the country turns its geographical location into a competitive edge.
The country would have four new lines connecting to Southern Sudan, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and DRC. The building of the proposed network would mean that European and Asian countries wishing to do business with Africa have to come through the East African countries particularly Uganda.
The network would give Uganda a chance to set up industries, especially those that require to use large quantities of fresh water, for the entire eastern and parts of central and southern Africa.
It is, therefore, important for Uganda to use every leverage it has to make this dream a reality by, if necessary, taking the lead. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's current chairmanship of the East African Community gives him a perfect opportunity to ensure that the project has kicked off by the time he steps down. Time is of essence here.
Obviously, as the region has learnt in the past, there will be many hurdles specifically erected on the way by regional and international forces who are promoting South Africa, Nigeria or even Egypt as their preferred entry-points into Africa. But these should be firmly resisted.
There will also be some short-sighted local political leaders who only pay lip-service to public-private-partnerships in infrastructure but would rather still have governments running the sector as before because of its potential for patronage.
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Mr Mbatau is a journalist
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