Stolen: Good Times Ahead.

I understand that most Kenyans have not been fully educated on what the core purpose of the SGR is about. Well, the SGR was built for cargo. The government, in partnership with mainly Chinese investors, will set up a special economic zone and an Inland Port in Naivasha. Naivasha has all the ingredients needed to establish a low-cost manufacturing hub due to its favorable location and factors such as access to cheap geothermal power and the East African High Voltage Power Hub at Suswa that will also facilitate cheap electricity imports from Ethiopia (Ethiopia has constructed huge power dams etc), cheap labor, favorable infrastructure (SGR & Proposed Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit motorway that is expected to be constructed by Vinci Highways of France), cheap land and water availability. Note that China has been constructing similar railway gauge across Africa easier connectivity. All this plays into a larger part which I have just stolen and copy-pasted from elsewhere on social media:

"Recently, I have been keenly monitoring the developments across the African continent as part of my research and studies. It has not escaped my attention that the African Continental Free Trade Area has been ratified by 21 countries as of this week, with one more to go (expected to ratify in less than a week or two) before the African free market becomes a reality. Goods, services and people will be able to move freely across this vast continent of 1.2 billion people and a nearly $4 trillion GDP. This makes Africa the 6th largest economy in the world. In contrast, India (current no. 7) has 1.3309 billion people and a $2.2 trillion economy.

With the realization of the free market and the consequential removal of tariffs and structural inefficiencies, African countries will be able to trade with each other, rather than import goods that are usually available from other African countries from outside the continent and thus retain a lot of money within the continent borders. I am confident that if fully realized and operational, this free market area will surpass the other world economies in a decade or 15 years, considering that just ONE African country, Congo DRC alone holds $24 trillion worth of wealth in its borders. In comparison, China is the world’s largest economy by GDP per capita measure at $22 trillion while USA is the collective world leader in terms of GDP at $21 trillion."

Eti located near a cheap source of power…

Does that really make any fucking sense??

Just say it’s located on Delamare farm!!

what are you saying?

You are plain ignorant and silly. Is Suswa at Delamere farm? Have you checked what is the cheapest source of power we can or are producing? It is geothermal, bonehead!

:D:D:D

Good times for who?

Definitely not Africans as we Kenyans are finding out firsthand about this ruinous white elephant.

Good times for our colonisers.

Bonehead it is :D:D

I do rather prefer we develop our countries to first world status. China’s president just signed at least 2 billion Euros worth of projects in Italy. All investors are welcome. Lazima tumalize dharau from other races. Haven’t you noticed the continental free trade area gained momentum the minute the Orange chap pale Washington DC called us shithole countries? Waafrika tukome upumbavu

Furahia maendeleo. Dharau za kuitwa shithole zikome

Ignorance is bliss. Especially for adherents of the cargo cult such as yourself.

The SGR is a verified loss making project based on 18th century technology that is bankrupting this country and inviting these vultures that you’re busy praising through their pie in the sky economics.

White elephants like these are the exact reason why Africa will remain a shithole for the foreseeable future

[SIZE=6]2019 outlook: China debt repayment triples from July[/SIZE]
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 2 2019

https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/image/view/-/4739070/highRes/2214169/-/maxw/600/-/58dc/-/sgr.jpg
Construction works on Phase 2A of the Kenya’s standard gauge railway at Suswa. China Communications Construction Company is the contractor. PHOTO | GEORGE SAYAGIE | NMG
In Summary
[ul]
[li]The loan is to be repaid in 15 years.[/li][li]The deal to fund the first phase of the SGR, Kenya’s single largest infrastructure project by cost since independence, saw Beijing overtake Tokyo as Kenya’s largest bilateral lender.[/li][li]Debt repayments to Beijing will account for a third of the $2.7 billion debt that Kenyan projects will be due to foreign lenders in 2019-20.[/li][/ul]
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Kenya’s loan repayments to China will nearly triple from July as the five-year grace period that Beijing extended to Nairobi in May 2014 for the standard gauge railway (SGR) funds comes to an end.
Nairobi will pay Chinese State-owned lenders nearly Ksh82.85 billion ($828.5 million) in the year starting July from Ksh36.24 billion ($362.4 million) in the current year ending June.
Kenya in May 2014 entered into a deal to borrow $3.233 billion loan (Ksh324.01 billion) from China’s Exim Bank, comprised of $1.633 billion commercial loan and $1.6 billion concessional to build the 385km Mombasa and Nairobi SGR line.
The loan is to be repaid in 15 years.
The deal to fund the first phase of the SGR, Kenya’s single largest infrastructure project by cost since independence, saw Beijing overtake Tokyo as Kenya’s largest bilateral lender.
Debt repayments to Beijing will account for a third of the Ksh274.24 billion ($2.7 billion) debt that Kenyan projects will be due to foreign lenders in 2019-20.

Enyewe mnatudharau sana. Mnatuona mang’ombe tu.

Look, the SGR is not for passengers. It is for cargo, and as we know, those using the SGR to move containers are complaining because they IMPORT and return empty containers. If we have a two-way cargo traffic that will result from the special economic zones in Suswa-Naivasha-Narok areas, the railway line will be much more profitable. Plus we are looking at the wider African continental infrastructure development. It is expensive for Africans to trade with each other than with other countries outside the continent due to poor infrastructure. Plus in Public Finance, large scale infrastructure projects always pay themselves back via the Principle of Equity, where each generation shoulders its costs and enjoys the benefits as well. Just like vile unafurahia the port of Mombasa whose taxes were paid by peeps in the 70s.

Lastly, check with KR website. The revenues from cargo and passengers have been increasing at high rates. Jisomeshe facts wachana na emotions. There can never be development without loans and our generation will be the one shouldering the heaviest cost of developing infrastructure that we should have done during President Moi’s wasted years.

Boss, leave economics to economists. China also took on huge debts in the 80s to develop its massive infrastructure. Mortgages and housing loans also work in the same way.

Now tell us what they did with those loans when they got them. Did 80% of the borrowed $$ go into officials personal accounts ?

Given that trade is exchange of good, What exactly will Kenya be EXPORTING to other countries?

Please don’t say that it’s agricultural produce / minerals …that’s not viable given the inputs required and red tape. Plus, what policies improvements are being done, if any, to make this (exporting goods) a possibility?

For starters, our current manufacturing industry can export items such as household stuffs, processed foods, pharmaceuticals etc to nearby countries with smaller manufacturing bases such as Cameroon, Congo, Angola, Central African Republic and even Nigeria (which has tiny manufacturing industry). Fanya research baba. Actually Nigeria buys our flowers from Amsterdam at twice the price we sell to Amsterdam brokers. We need to eliminate such stupidity ya kutajirisha watu wanatudharau,

Second, skilled workers will now be able to move freely across the continent. Why should we bring in oil workers from the same countries zinatudharau when Angola, Nigeria or even North African countries have experts in the field. Waafrika nimesema tumeanza era ya kujipenda. Wasomali ndio shida!

Toa Ujinga hapa. Nyinyi ndo mnachafua kijiji na upuzi. Soma economics, na commerce. Nchi imeingia kwa shimo.

Wewe unaongelea Kenya, where you chose to vote for buffoons. Am talking about the African continent and its impending opportunities and how Kenya stands to benefit and fit in the whole scope. The SGR is part of the transcontinental railway network aimed to bridge the African infrastructure gaps and improve intra-African trade. Wacha kutumia kichwa kubeba mate :D:D. Dunce!!

More obtuse responses. To begin with, you’re talking about a secondary railway line. Have you considered the costs of construction of that part? Of course not.

Which wider African infrastructure are you talking about?:D:D African trading can be resolved at regional economic bloc meetings. What you completely ignore is the fact that most African countries produce the same types of goods for trade in the first place!

As to this delusional Public Finance philosophy you have, it’s rather amusing that you have completely ignored the underlying fact that the SGR’s operational costs are estimated to be around Ksh 1 billion a month and rising. Anyone with a lick of commonsense will instantly tell that this is unsustainable.

Lastly Kenya Railways have been increasing costs of cargo thanks to this white elephant. Kusoma their website does not good for anyone as they are in debt and much like the incompetents you are trying so hard to defend, will pretend all is well and even lie about financial figures attached to the SGR.