THE inauguration of Athi River-Namanga (Kenya) through Namanga to Arusha in Tanzania this past week graced by Tanzania’s President Dr Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete and Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, was one of the most significant steps in the journey towards East African integration.
Those who are old enough will recall that in the not too distant past, Tanzanians from the Lake region used to endure the uncomfortable road all the way from Kisii in Kenya to Arusha in Tanzania as they made their way to the Tanzanian capital, Dar es Salaam.
The inauguration of the multi-million dollar road whose construction was funded by loans from the African Development Bank, has in effect eased and made doing business between not just between Kenya and Tanzania, but beyond all the way to Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia and Southern Sudan, much easier and cheaper.
Those who have been doubting the viability of East African community and dismissing regional integration as a pipedream that has no place in so- called ‘independent states’ that in actual state are begging nations, will have been put to shame, that these nations can and have implemented a joint infrastructure project whose sheer scope will add value to the lives of the common folk.
It is as a consequence of this road, that for the the first time, a pastoralist in Mt. Meru area in Arusha region can hope to deliver his livestock to the Kenya Meat Commission in Athi River and get back to his stock on the same day.
In similar vein, a farmer whose fresh vegetables need a market can dash across the border from Arusha into Nairobi and back on a smooth well done road. This project, is a sure winner for the people and takes regional integration, in one sweep, out of the red-carpet hall ways of State Houses and high class hotels, to the tire and tarmac where wananchi, for once get to enjoy the benefits of the East African Community.
Yet the road is only one of the reasons we celebrate the East African Community this week. The five East African Community Nations are under the regional infrastructure projects working jointly on power generation and distribution and re-distribution.
In effect, the Governments are aiming at ensuring power outages much known as load shedding in Uganda, power outages in Kenya and ‘mgawo’ in Tanzania are a thing of the past. To make this a reality, the EAC has signed up to share power from Ethiopia and redistribute power from the grid in Ethiopia initially at 400 megawatts but expected to be connected by 1000 megawatts through convertor stations to Tanzania and similarly to Uganda and Rwanda.