Develop transport infrastructure for national, regional competitiveness

Good transport infrastructure is seen as a strategic tool for economic and social development. But in Kenya, we have not leveraged our infrastructure for development. Events in the past week on major roads into Nairobi are a reminder that we are far from leveraging transport infrastructure as a strategic tool for national and regional competitiveness. 

Since independence, the road infrastructure linking the Rift Valley and Nairobi has virtually remained the same. And only the tarmacking of Naivasha-Kinungi-Nairobi road can be seen as a major project that created a strategic entry into the capital city in the event that the escarpment road is blocked.

But that was several years ago - in the 1980s - when the number of vehicles registered was below 200,000. In 2018, the number of registered vehicles shot to 3.3 million and today, there are at least 5 million vehicles on Kenyan roads. This is in addition to vehicles destined to Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi.

Without expansion and with a slight disruption, getting into Nairobi or other parts of Eastern Africa as well as the port of Mombasa can become a nightmare. In the process, it also affects the economy negatively.

This is what happened during the festive season last week. It took an average of six hours to travel between Nairobi and Mai Mahiu, a distance of 69 kilometers. This was not the first time this happened. In some cases in the past, it has taken more than nine hours to travel between Nairobi and Naivasha, which is barely 90 kilometers away.

Strategic planning

Most cities often strategically plan transport infrastructure by looking at the worst case scenarios. For example, if the escarpment and Kinungi bypass were to be closed for any reason, there will be virtually no food supply into Nairobi. The perishables for export will rot to waste as has happened before and supply to neighbouring countries will also be severely affected.

This calls for us to start looking at alternative routes. The best possible alternative roads - Naivasha-Kijabe and Ngong-Suswa - are practically impassable since they are not tarmacked. The Gatundu-Kinare road is not an option since even the police cannot guarantee security especially around the Gatamaiyo Forest Nature Reserve.

On December, 29, 2020, a minor accident at the escarpment caused a major disruption that delayed many motorists for hours. I was among those caught up in the traffic just near Mai-Mahiu. Some motorists had driven straight to Naivasha only to complicate movement there. We were informed that Naivasha-Kinungi road was like a parking lot. The police therefore guided us to the Naivasha-Kijabe-Nairobi road. It was a trap given the fact that not every vehicle could go up the steep and narrow murram road.

Some of the motorists behind us attempted to use Suswa-Ngong road. They got lost on the many diversions on an excessively damaged road. They therefore gave up their hunt for a sliver-lining and turned back into the waiting stream of traffic. Basically, Nairobi was cut off from the Rift Valley.

We could do better in the 21st century. But when it comes to the development of transport infrastructure, we always give the excuse of lack of funds. But that isn’t the problem. 

We can learn from the Roman commitment to build roads even before the first car had been manufactured. About 300 BC the Romans were building roads by hand as a strategy to maintain the development of the state. They had the will and some of the roads they built exist up-today.

Suswa-Ngong road is just 67 Kilometers. With nearby quarries and a few unemployed young people, we could develop a sustainable stone road. There are many other ways we can build sustainable roads without borrowing any funds.

Traffic offenders

But the other problem that compounded the traffic problem throughout the festive season was the behaviour of drivers.  There are those who do not want to wait their turn and instead overlap. I see this as a great source of development revenue.

We can use a technology called Internet of Things (IoT) to capture misbehavior on the roads. If the government is able to collect Sh10,000 from those who violate traffic rules with impunity over the holidays, it can raise at least Sh100 billion, which is enough to construct Suswa-Nairobi and Naivasha-Kijabe roads.

On the two days I was on the road, I observed that one in every three Kenyans violates traffic rules. And because they are used to breaking the rules, they do not even know that overlapping is against the law. In fact, they do not even think they have violated the rights of other motorists. Indeed, those who should know best are the ones who trample on the liberties of ordinary citizens.

Besides convenience for citizens, we need strategic infrastructure to enhance our competitiveness. We are not doing regional road users any favours. They buy our goods and services so we should treat them a customer should be, to increase the value of trade with them. Uganda for example, is our number one trading partner. We must make things as efficient as possible for the country so that it does not look for new trading routes. It is said, after all, that “a bird in hand is worth two in the bush.” 

As we work hard to court Ethiopia, we must not lose site of the other East African partners, especially at a time when the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is fully operational.

Time has come for us to start developing new road arteries into Nairobi from various counties. It is the right thing to do considering the number of vehicles in the country has grown tenfold yet infrastructure has not expanded.

Good infrastructure not only enhances efficiency and expands the economy but also improves national and regional competitiveness, stabilises food prices and improves productivity.