Isiolo Deputy Governor Mohamed Guleid. He has dismissed the newly opened SGR terming it as an old technology not worth bragging about [Photo: pinterest.com]
Isiolo Deputy Governor Mohammed Guleid has dismissed the launch of the standard gauge railway terming it as a hyper-inflated project meant to kill economies of some regions.
Guleid argued that the idea to open a dry port in Naivasha through the SGR would render some Mombasa port workers jobless.
He also said that the SGR is an old technology not worth the cost it incurred.
"There is nothing to brag about the SGR because the world over, this is an old technology that has been passed by time. This project just multiplied our national debt. To me this is part of Chinese hegemony in Africa that is meant to serve their interests through the exploitation of our resources," said Guleid on Tuesday during K24's Faceoff programme.
The Deputy Governor added that the Jubilee government was having its priorities wrong saying they could have started with improving the road network across the country.
"Jubilee had promised 10,000km of tarmac roads. If they stuck to that agenda, the country would have benefited more than it will from the SGR. I do not see any difference between the train that comes from Syokimau to Nairobi and the new one," he said.
Guleid noted that Kenyans had been duped and would pay for the SGR for many years to come while getting so little in return.