NASA's plan on industrialization, Housing, transport and sports infrastructure

NASA principals Isaac Ruto(left)Kalonzo Musyoka(centre)Raila Odinga ,Musalia mudavadi and moses wetangula during the NASA manifesto launch at nairobi on 27/6/17-BEVERLYNE MUSILI

The National Super Alliance (NASA) is promising to address gaps in housing, transport and sports should it win the August 8 elections.

In its manifesto titled ‘A Strong Nation,’ the Raila Odinga-led alliance says that it wants to kick-start Kenya’s industrialisation engine, which it claims has stalled.

According to NASA, Kenya’s informal sector has been abandoned despite accounting for 17 per cent of all jobs created in the country excluding smallholder agriculture.

“Our jua kali industry is successful not because of Government support, but in spite of the lack of it. We are persuaded that empowering jua kali is our surest route to industrialisation,” says NASA in its manifesto.

Working with county governments, the alliance is promising to construct at least one industrial park in every ward to support micro and small enterprises.

Equipped workshops

It also promises to set up equipped workshops where jua kali entrepreneurs can lease machines that they cannot afford as individuals.

On transport, NASA promises to ensure that all parts of the country are served by improved transport network to support sectors such as agriculture.

Moyale - Mandera - Wajir - Garissa road that is expected to connect North Eastern Kenya to the rest of Kenya is among the projects that the alliance promises to prioritise when it assumes power.

“There is no point in producing something that one cannot get to the market,” says NASA.

For Coast residents, NASA promised that Likoni Bridge, a project that has been mooted for many years, will become a reality through public-private partnership. Also on its radar is a commuter railway line along the coastline from Malindi to Diani and from Mombasa inland to Voi.

In Nairobi, NASA has promised to fast-track Nairobi Mass Transit system to get the city out of the unattractive statistic of being among top five cities in the world in traffic congestion.

For Western Kenya, the manifesto promises Lake Victoria Ring Road to cover six counties and unlock key investments in the lake region.

The alliance pledges to improve domestic aviation network by upgrading selected airstrips in the country to commercial aviation standards, to ensure that each county headquarters is accessible by commercial flight.

On housing, the Raila-led alliance pledged to deliver 500,000 units of affordable housing units over the next five years through public-private partnerships to eradicate slums.

It further pledges to develop long-term spatial development and investment plans for major metropolitan clusters; Nairobi, Coast and Kisumu-Kakamega-Bungoma.

In sports, NASA promises to ensure Kenya hosts at least one international athletics event every year.

The alliance promises to grow residential tourism by growing demand for long-stay ‘silver dollar’ tourism in the world.