I will admit to being a jaded skeptic when it comes to government led development in North Eastern. But one need not be a seasoned cynic to shrug at the mere mention of a Garissa-Mandera Highway. No politicians comes to NEP without mentioning it. No local power hungry tribalist crank runs for office without invoking it.
Yet, despite all the lip service, this project has never gotten off the ground. This's why I'm not impressed this time round when Yusuf Haji drapes himself in "Saudi Labianism" and talks about the shovel readiness of this infrastructure project.
I remember, as a sixth grader less than a decade ago, following politicians on the campaign trail and hearing all the great things they promised to do for the residents of NEP. They talked about this highway, about building leather factories, irrigation schemes. They talked about building better schools and mobile clinics.
It's not just that they haven't done any of those things. The more important thing is that our own politicians have not fought for this highway and more bizarrely have continued to campaign for the same people who've lied to us for two generations now.
Its like we have a natural affinity for disappointment. The more our corrupt political elites piss on us, the more subservient we get.
I am sorry to have disappointed you Mr. illiterate Minister. I just don't believe in you and its getting painful seeing an old ass like you pay homage to this deadbeat project.
Showing posts with label Infrastructure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Infrastructure. Show all posts
Friday, September 23, 2011
The Standard: Saudi Arabia Loans Kenya Sh 1.6 Billion for Garissa--Mandera HIghway
Saudi Arabia loans Kenya sh1.6b for road construction
Updated 20 hr(s) 13 min(s) ago
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By Athman Amran
The Saudi Government has approved an over Sh1.6 billion loan to Kenya for the construction of the 146km Nuno-Modagashe road that will run between Garissa and Mandera towns.
Saudi Ambassador to Kenya Ghorm Said Malhan said the Saudi government is also set to give Kenya another Sh1.2 billion to fund five power projects. Adding that the money would be sourced from the Saudi Fund for Development.
The ambassador was speaking during the marking of the 80th anniversary of the Unification of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at a Nairobi hotel on Thursday evening.
The total construction of the Nuno-Modagashe road is estimated at Sh8 billion with a total of Sh5.36 billion to be procured from loans from the Saudi Fund, the Kuwait Fund, the OPEC fund and the Abu-Dhabi Fund.
The first phase of the project was expected to begin in Garissa last year.
Malhan said most of Saudi assistance to Kenya is directed towards development of infrastructure, water, irrigation and agriculture. He said the power projects will be done in five different locations in the country.
"Delegations from the Saudi Fund for Development visited Nairobi twice this year to upraise rural projects in Kenya," Malhan said.
The ambassador also said that the Saudi Government contributed 200 tonnes of assorted food and another 200 tonnes of dates to assist Kenyans affected by famine.
Defence minister Yusuf Haji said Kenya will continue to have good relations with Saudi Arabia, which he said is host to over 20,000 Kenyan workers, including both professionals and domestic workers among others.
"The Kenyan workers in Saudi Arabia remit about Sh1 billion annually to Kenya," Haji said.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Quick Hits: Matatu fares & Boda Boda problems
As inflationary forces march on, matatu fares have fallen victim to its money-fleecing ways. Fares have risen by 50% in all routes. Now a ride costs 30 bob, up from the usual 20 Shs.
*****
Friends, we all know Garissa has been growing by leaps and bounds lately but this growth has brought with it a whole new set of maladies. No, I'm not talking about drugs or excessively high property prices or the population boom. Its the Boda Boda industry and all the ailments that have come with it. The operators have no particular training and are the cause of many injuries and sometimes deaths.
A tipster e-mailed me about the recent death of a youngster after getting run-over by a Boda Boda. Another youth is in critical condition in the Garissa Provincial General Hospital after he was injured in a similar circumstance.
Its time these guys get dealt with.
*****
Friends, we all know Garissa has been growing by leaps and bounds lately but this growth has brought with it a whole new set of maladies. No, I'm not talking about drugs or excessively high property prices or the population boom. Its the Boda Boda industry and all the ailments that have come with it. The operators have no particular training and are the cause of many injuries and sometimes deaths.
A tipster e-mailed me about the recent death of a youngster after getting run-over by a Boda Boda. Another youth is in critical condition in the Garissa Provincial General Hospital after he was injured in a similar circumstance.
Its time these guys get dealt with.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Abu Dhabi gives Sh.800m for the construction of Garissa-Modogashe Highway
The Abu Dhabi Fund For Development (ADFD) has given Sh.800m to Kenya's ambassador to the UAE, Mohammed Gillo, for the construction of a single carriage (two lane) highway link between Garissa and Modogashe.
This 135Km link will improve the livelihoods of a lot of Northerners and cut travel time between the two towns. Lets hope this money will not be diverted to personal accounts or other regions.
For further reading, go here and here.
This 135Km link will improve the livelihoods of a lot of Northerners and cut travel time between the two towns. Lets hope this money will not be diverted to personal accounts or other regions.
For further reading, go here and here.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Business Daily: �- Northern Kenya deserves attention
Ibrahim Mwathane
Northern Kenya deserves attention
Please look out and tell me what you see below,” I asked my Burundian friend as we entered Kenyan airspace from a Trans-Atlantic journey.
“Nothing. Just darkness”, she said.
“That’s the northern part of my country. Looks like it’s uninhabited, doesn’t it, compared to what we saw while overflying America and Europe at night. Yet it forms a major part of my country”, I told her.
As if to vindicate, the space below suddenly lit up as we approached Nakuru and proceeded through Naivasha to Nairobi.
The neat darkness was gone. Rather humbling. This undeveloped North challenges our national economy and business enterprise.
After six years, I returned to Garissa, provincial town, Northern Kenya. End of tarmac. To Isiolo, Wajir and Mandera is a very rough road.
And the many extras we take for granted out here in “ developed Kenya” are scant.
I for instance remember newspaper vendors bursting into laughter when I asked for a newspaper at about 12 noon.
“Not yet arrived”, they told me.
Six years back, they’d just shaken their heads, amused and in disbelief when I made a similar request at about 8 am.
I thought things must have improved. Not at all. Residents read rather stale news here.
Challenges in aspects like entertainment, accommodation and travel are galore.
Yet Garissa, compared to the wider arid North, is modern and well connected to “Kenya”.
But in many aspects, the town is fighting back admirably. It’s growing. The skyline, given what I had seen earlier, has changed.
New and higher commercial buildings have come up.
And numerous modern residential units have mushroomed all around.
Garissa will soon force itself to national attention.
But we need to be more proactive about its growth and its central role.
We must remember that it provides co-ordination and entry to the rather “dark North”, the Kenya we need to reclaim.
Reminds me of the book, “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man”, where author John Perkins observes how in the ‘70s , America helped to transform the desert Oil Kingdom of Saudi Arabia into a modern Industrialised Nation.
Through massive investments of capital and technology, shopping malls, housing complexes, hospitals, water and sewerage, communication, electrical and transport networks replaced the once archaic systems of the Kingdom.
Of course, the take for America too was immense. But the lesson here is that our arid North can be turned around.
If America, limited by distance and language, could achieve such a feat in under a decade, what about us?
With a common language, fairly short distances and compelling national reasons, we should transform our North.
That is why the President’s Madaraka Day speech indicating that feasibility studies are on going for a railway network to connect the Indian Ocean port of Lamu to Isiolo and Juba in Southern Sudan with a link from Isiolo to Moyale to connect Ethiopia to promote tourism, trade and investments must be lauded.
These plans should incorporate modern highways and an oil pipeline alongside.
And Garissa must be connected too. It is gratifying to note that the Vision 2030 sectoral plan for Lands 2008-2012 incorporates plans to source land for this important transport corridor.
The recent pronouncement allocating Sh4.2 billion for the development of roads to open up Isiolo as a Resort City by the Finance Minister in the 2010/11 budget also aligns well to developing Northern Kenya.
Those keen on tapping the latent business opportunities from irrigation agriculture, livestock production, real estate, the provision of service infrastructure and oil exploration in this area must therefore gear up early.
Makes good business sense.
Northern Kenya deserves attention
Please look out and tell me what you see below,” I asked my Burundian friend as we entered Kenyan airspace from a Trans-Atlantic journey.
“Nothing. Just darkness”, she said.
“That’s the northern part of my country. Looks like it’s uninhabited, doesn’t it, compared to what we saw while overflying America and Europe at night. Yet it forms a major part of my country”, I told her.
As if to vindicate, the space below suddenly lit up as we approached Nakuru and proceeded through Naivasha to Nairobi.
The neat darkness was gone. Rather humbling. This undeveloped North challenges our national economy and business enterprise.
After six years, I returned to Garissa, provincial town, Northern Kenya. End of tarmac. To Isiolo, Wajir and Mandera is a very rough road.
And the many extras we take for granted out here in “ developed Kenya” are scant.
I for instance remember newspaper vendors bursting into laughter when I asked for a newspaper at about 12 noon.
“Not yet arrived”, they told me.
Six years back, they’d just shaken their heads, amused and in disbelief when I made a similar request at about 8 am.
I thought things must have improved. Not at all. Residents read rather stale news here.
Challenges in aspects like entertainment, accommodation and travel are galore.
Yet Garissa, compared to the wider arid North, is modern and well connected to “Kenya”.
But in many aspects, the town is fighting back admirably. It’s growing. The skyline, given what I had seen earlier, has changed.
New and higher commercial buildings have come up.
And numerous modern residential units have mushroomed all around.
Garissa will soon force itself to national attention.
But we need to be more proactive about its growth and its central role.
We must remember that it provides co-ordination and entry to the rather “dark North”, the Kenya we need to reclaim.
Reminds me of the book, “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man”, where author John Perkins observes how in the ‘70s , America helped to transform the desert Oil Kingdom of Saudi Arabia into a modern Industrialised Nation.
Through massive investments of capital and technology, shopping malls, housing complexes, hospitals, water and sewerage, communication, electrical and transport networks replaced the once archaic systems of the Kingdom.
Of course, the take for America too was immense. But the lesson here is that our arid North can be turned around.
If America, limited by distance and language, could achieve such a feat in under a decade, what about us?
With a common language, fairly short distances and compelling national reasons, we should transform our North.
That is why the President’s Madaraka Day speech indicating that feasibility studies are on going for a railway network to connect the Indian Ocean port of Lamu to Isiolo and Juba in Southern Sudan with a link from Isiolo to Moyale to connect Ethiopia to promote tourism, trade and investments must be lauded.
These plans should incorporate modern highways and an oil pipeline alongside.
And Garissa must be connected too. It is gratifying to note that the Vision 2030 sectoral plan for Lands 2008-2012 incorporates plans to source land for this important transport corridor.
The recent pronouncement allocating Sh4.2 billion for the development of roads to open up Isiolo as a Resort City by the Finance Minister in the 2010/11 budget also aligns well to developing Northern Kenya.
Those keen on tapping the latent business opportunities from irrigation agriculture, livestock production, real estate, the provision of service infrastructure and oil exploration in this area must therefore gear up early.
Makes good business sense.
Friday, September 10, 2010
The Problem With NEP
By Aden Sh-abdullahi Yunis
We have spent the last 45 years blaming politicians and lamenting about marginalization without addressing the root causes or debating the possible solutions. We have consistently elected the same breed of politicians while the province sank deeper and deeper into political, economic and social miseries. The province is so predictable that we would trail in sports, drama, science congress competition and even in population census. These pathetic scenarios are exaggerated by natural calamities such as heat, low rainfalls and rugged terrains.
In the education sector, the three old districts (include the newly created)compete at the bottom during KCPE and KCSE results. These is because the performances of our children are being doctored by among others the absence of teachers and teaching aids. Over the years, We have learnt that Kenya's leading student's trail behind our children once they attend same classes in public universities. (No malice intended)
Healthcare is a nightmare that beats all logics. Dispensaries are either non-existent or ill-equiped, unmanned and so dispersed that basic treatable diseases are the leading cause of death in NEP. Awareness is a non-existent luxury and you can guess the fate of a heart attack patient in a province where burials are conducted within minutes of death.... See More
There are no reasons why tarmac roads are extended to all the country's border points except North Eastern province. This is a deliberate economic sabotage. It is a folly that tarmac roads are extended to Mombasa, Namanga, Narok, Busia, Lokichoggio and not in the easier terrains of Nep. We are the only solutions to our problems. We have the rights to publicise these issues or tolerate the words silently.I beleive Nep is capable of reaching greater goals.
We can strenghthen our politicians by setting goals and holding them accountable, by making sure both constituents and politicians appreciate the power of the vote. We can differ on issues and personalities but we will always have common interests and middle grounds. We can bet that all interested parties would prefer better infrastructure, more hospitals and educational institutions, lower taxes and a constitution that gives power back to the people. To achieve these goals, we should encourage a communal approach to the challenges, add up ideas soberly and set the foundation for a better, well administered, politically mature North Eastern province.
The challenges facing the province today can be solved by awareness campaigns. Some might require time and effort from our generation for the betterment of our successors. CONSIDER THESE QUESTIONS:
Why do NEP residents go to the police instead of the courts when someone is arrested?
Why do we pay fines that are not court-ordered and without receipts?
Why do we break in ululations when a District commissioner promises to address power outages
Why shouldn't the KPLC boss do his job?
If NEP records the lowest crime every year, Why are we leading in police arrests?
Why is it that only 2% of those arrested reach the court?
Why are our MPs inaccessible after elections?
Can our Gov't afford a tarmac road from Isiolo to Moyale(Eastern)? Hulugho to Mandera?
Can we afford one public university in Nep? JUST ONE!
Why is media-coverage restricted in Nep and why do we have to buy papers that do not cover our pleas?
A college degree and finding a middle class job in the city will not change Nep. Our elites must be politically active and negotiate for each vote that the Gov't gets from Nep. We should create pressure groups to keep MPs on the run and deny them a chance to sleep in parliament. Peaceful masses should camp at parliamentarians doors in the wee hours of the morning! What do you think?
We have spent the last 45 years blaming politicians and lamenting about marginalization without addressing the root causes or debating the possible solutions. We have consistently elected the same breed of politicians while the province sank deeper and deeper into political, economic and social miseries. The province is so predictable that we would trail in sports, drama, science congress competition and even in population census. These pathetic scenarios are exaggerated by natural calamities such as heat, low rainfalls and rugged terrains.
In the education sector, the three old districts (include the newly created)compete at the bottom during KCPE and KCSE results. These is because the performances of our children are being doctored by among others the absence of teachers and teaching aids. Over the years, We have learnt that Kenya's leading student's trail behind our children once they attend same classes in public universities. (No malice intended)
Healthcare is a nightmare that beats all logics. Dispensaries are either non-existent or ill-equiped, unmanned and so dispersed that basic treatable diseases are the leading cause of death in NEP. Awareness is a non-existent luxury and you can guess the fate of a heart attack patient in a province where burials are conducted within minutes of death.... See More
There are no reasons why tarmac roads are extended to all the country's border points except North Eastern province. This is a deliberate economic sabotage. It is a folly that tarmac roads are extended to Mombasa, Namanga, Narok, Busia, Lokichoggio and not in the easier terrains of Nep. We are the only solutions to our problems. We have the rights to publicise these issues or tolerate the words silently.I beleive Nep is capable of reaching greater goals.
We can strenghthen our politicians by setting goals and holding them accountable, by making sure both constituents and politicians appreciate the power of the vote. We can differ on issues and personalities but we will always have common interests and middle grounds. We can bet that all interested parties would prefer better infrastructure, more hospitals and educational institutions, lower taxes and a constitution that gives power back to the people. To achieve these goals, we should encourage a communal approach to the challenges, add up ideas soberly and set the foundation for a better, well administered, politically mature North Eastern province.
The challenges facing the province today can be solved by awareness campaigns. Some might require time and effort from our generation for the betterment of our successors. CONSIDER THESE QUESTIONS:
Why do NEP residents go to the police instead of the courts when someone is arrested?
Why do we pay fines that are not court-ordered and without receipts?
Why do we break in ululations when a District commissioner promises to address power outages
Why shouldn't the KPLC boss do his job?
If NEP records the lowest crime every year, Why are we leading in police arrests?
Why is it that only 2% of those arrested reach the court?
Why are our MPs inaccessible after elections?
Can our Gov't afford a tarmac road from Isiolo to Moyale(Eastern)? Hulugho to Mandera?
Can we afford one public university in Nep? JUST ONE!
Why is media-coverage restricted in Nep and why do we have to buy papers that do not cover our pleas?
A college degree and finding a middle class job in the city will not change Nep. Our elites must be politically active and negotiate for each vote that the Gov't gets from Nep. We should create pressure groups to keep MPs on the run and deny them a chance to sleep in parliament. Peaceful masses should camp at parliamentarians doors in the wee hours of the morning! What do you think?
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Parts of the Road between Nairobi & Gsa are so smooth, they might inspire one to try out their Formula 1 Skillz.
Recently carpeted, few cars plying the highway and free of Traffic Police, the masters of emasculated beggertude-if you would permit the word.
Diametrically opposite to this is ofcourse the road between Garissa and Mandera.
This is just before you get out of Garissa at the border between Boystown & Al Farouq
Diametrically opposite to this is ofcourse the road between Garissa and Mandera.
This is just before you get out of Garissa at the border between Boystown & Al Farouq
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