Thursday, May 23, 2024 - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has come clean as to why he dumped Tanzania for Kenya in the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) deal.
In a statement, Museveni revealed that he preferred Kenya
for the SGR deal because Tanzania was taking too long to actualize its SGR
cross-border plan.
Museveni made the revelation during a meeting with Italian
investors who will construct the SGR line on Uganda’s side.
Notably, this was a day after Kenyan Transport Cabinet
Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen revealed that China’s Exim Bank would fund
the construction of SGR from Naivasha to the Ugandan border.
“They (Italian investors) shared their interest in funding
and constructing a railway line from Tororo to Majanji, along with a port at
Majanji,” Museveni spoke of the delegation led by Mauro Massoni, the Ambassador
of Italy to Uganda.
Appreciating the investment, Museveni remarked that it would
facilitate trade from Northern Uganda and neighboring countries.
“We are commencing construction of the Standard Gauge
Railway from the Kenyan border to Kampala. The construction of the railway from
Tanzania will take time,” Museveni added.
Tanzania while lagging behind in SGR connecting Uganda has
accelerated national connectivity.
Using funding from China and Turkey, Tanzania is constructing
a 1,600-kilometre SGR line connecting Dar es Salaam and Mwanza.
Ruto and Museveni have a tentative agreement that will see
SGR transverse from Mombasa through Kampala to the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC).
Once completed, the line will facilitate trade between
Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda and DRC.
While China will loan Kenya most of the funding needed for
the construction of the Naivasha to Ugandan border stretch, Kenyan
taxpayers will still be required to foot part of the total sum.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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