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{
    "id": 554943,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/554943/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 279,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Nyenze",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1987,
        "legal_name": "Francis Mwanzia Nyenze (Deceased)",
        "slug": "francis-mwanzia-nyenze"
    },
    "content": "Railway and the Lamu Port. However, it has been late in approving this Protocol. So, we are doing a catch-up. However, this is a good time. The East African Community (EAC) is not as old as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) or the other associations in Africa. However, one thing that we have done to overtake these other units is the monetary integration. This has put EAC ahead in the region. I am sure through the same Protocol, there is the central integration. We want to be one Government. This will help this region because when you are small states and not united you do not grow. You only grow your region, but in terms of economies of scale you do not have a big market. China has grown because of its big population, one market and a very big middle class. By 2025 Africa will have a bigger population and a bigger middle income group than China. The reason I support the approval of this Protocol is that eventually the African Union (AU) will unite the whole African continent into one federal state. It will be the United States of Africa, the way there is the United States of America (USA) and so forth. This is the way forward. The SGR will make transport of goods cheaper, faster and more reliable. More towns will spring up. Once you bring the cost of transport of goods down, the economy improves automatically. So, this is the single most important project that this Government has put in place. The world over people are going to SGR, and not the single gauge that we have been used to, for faster movement of goods so that this economy grows faster. The intention of this Protocol is to spread this railway up to Rwanda. I would urge the East African leaders to even extend it to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean through the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) because there are many resources. The EAC will be taken seriously by the world. Nairobi grew and overtook other towns that were 100 years older than it because of the single line railway that passed through it. When the railway line was active, there was business, transport costs were down and Nairobi grew very fast. All towns where there was a station grew faster than others. So, this is something that this country should take very seriously. We have to approve this Protocol on the SGR and move forward. There is also a plan to develop the Konza ICT City because the world is going digital. This will create jobs and we will get into new economies that are service-based. The world is moving towards that area in terms of banking and ICT. Those are areas which generate more jobs and income for countries. So, the Government should also allocate more money to Konza City in hundreds of billions so that it becomes a silicon valley of Africa. There are very many advantages of railway transport compared to other means of transport. You can expand the railway line usage by increasing the wagons and then transport as many goods as possible. Railway transport is reliable and timely. It will spur faster economic growth. Bulky exports like coal and iron ore cannot be transported through the pipeline. The railway is the best transport. If you look at cities all over the world which are developed, it is because of either rail transport or the waterways. For example, the Rainy River Waterway that cuts across Europe. All the cities in which the Rainy River passes are now developed. Another example is Cologne City in Germany. Look at the Rotterdam Port, there you will find that transport issues have been adequately The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}