Rail system needs fresh investment

The furore generated by news that an African investment firm was eyeing a stake in Rift Valley Railways obscures the fact that transport costs remain the single largest barrier to regional trade.

In fact, several studies quoted by the Government’s own think tank, the Kenya Institute for Policy Analysis and Research, show that transport costs are the biggest barrier to export competitiveness. Our heavy reliance on our costly road network to deliver goods from the port of Mombasa to inland destinations is the cause. When Sheltham Corporation came into the picture several years ago, it raised hopes, now proven false, that the ailing Kenya Railways Corporation would recover. As it now turns out, this was a mirage. Years after the ink dried on the concession agreement, things are no better.