Nairobi Kenya — With the ten-year tenure of outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta coming to an end Monday, the Nairobi Expressway has been touted as one of the remarkable achievements of his administration.
Build purposely to address traffic congestion in Nairobi, the expressway is a 27.1 Kilometre Road project from Mlolongo through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD) to Westland's area along Waiyaki Way.
It is a road project between China and Kenya that is part of Kenya's public-private partnership program.
Before it was officially opened, President Kenyatta stated that Kenya's relationship with China was one of mutual benefit, using the Nairobi highway project as an example.
"Our partnership is based on win-win, and we are very grateful to the Chinese government for the Expressway," he said.
The Expressway was commissioned on 31st July 2022.
According to Cleophas Wanjigi Nairobi resident, President Kenyatta will also be remembered for the projects that has made transportation easy.
"The fact that now we have the Express Way, it is a great achievement that will go along way that Kenyans will remarkably remember Uhuru with," he told Capital FM News.
The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project is another outstanding project that Uhuru's will be remembered for.
The project was intended to link Mombasa to Malaba on the Uganda border, and then proceed to Kampala the Capital of Uganda.
According to Forward Orare, a Nairobi resident, he appreciates the SGR since it has eased the transportation from Nairobi to Mombasa and it cheap that a common Kenyan can afford.
"The SGR nowadays we enjoy going from Nairobi to Mombasa and back at an affordable price, and a bit comfortable, effective and efficient, unlike before that you have to use the flight which many couldn't afford," he said.
Additionally, President Kenyatta's government provided electricity to millions of Kenyan homes, bringing the total number of people using the power grid from 2.3 million in 2013 to 8.8 million users now.
This has been made possible by the last Mile Power Project, which has helped Kenya ho from being one of the nations where citizens had limited access to electricity to one that leads Africa in terms of power access.
The outgoing government has also finished building the new Mombasa-Nairobi Petroleum products pipeline and the first berths of Lamu Port.
In the nine years that President Kenyatta's administration has pushed for an economy whose growth has been powered by infrastructure development, Kenyans have expressed alarm about the nation's soaring public debt.
Since taking office in early 2013, President Kenyatta's administration has borrowed more than Sh6.5 trillion, bringing the nation's overall debt as of April 2022 close to Sh.9 trillion.
Wachira Juma a Nairobi resident said that the public debt that Uhuru's administration has taken can't be forgotten since it has made life difficult since they could hardly get their daily bread.
"Being someone of low standards I will say that the outgoing president has made life very difficult for us. Economy has been so expensive for Kenyans."
"Basic commodities like 'unga' have become so expensive, everything is rising and many Kenyans cannot buy the basic commodities, many has also become scarce," he said.
However, Uhuru's government has consistently defended its borrowing practices and stated that the funds are used to enhance Kenyans' wellbeing.
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"The only time that debt is a burden to a nation is if the nation is led by a cabal of looters. But in the hands of a visionary administration, debt is a catalyst for rapid development," said President Kenyatta during the Madaraka Day celebrations last month.
The government may have taken on too many projects due to its goals to fulfill the Vision 2030 and as a result, it appears to have bitten off more than it can chew since the time is over for the Kenyatta tenure.
There had been worries that some of the projects would be abandoned in the middle while others might be rendered useless and become white elephants.
On April 9,2013 President Kenyatta took office as Kenya's fourth President and he served his second term from 2017 to 2022.
The incoming President who was elected in the just concluded general election will be sworn in on 13th August 2022.
