President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto during the unveiling of SGR.[Photo/the-star.co.ke]
Forget about the politics of leaders aligned to National Super Alliance (NASA) in regard to the cost of constructing the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and let look at what Kenyans stand to benefit from the project.
There is a lot of politics surrounding the project until you cannot easily tell who is right and who is not. Here are some of the benefits Kenya stands to reap from SGR in the coming years.
To start with, passengers will enjoy not only faster but also cheaper journey from different parts of the nation. President Uhuru Kenyatta said that Kenyans will only part with Sh700 to travel from Nairobi to Mombasa, which is a good thing for the travelers
Secondly, SGR will lead to Low freight cost. The freight costs in the country and entire East Africa are higher when compared to countries such as those in Europe and United States of America among others.
Thirdly, SGR has created jobs. The head of State revealed that over 30,000 Kenyans will be employed and additional 10,000 will get jobs from SGR project
Fourthly, Kenya is among the leading exporters and importers in the region. SGR will lead to better trade in the country.
Fifth, it is also a symbol of progress. Kenya is among the few countries with such railway lines in the world.