VituVingiSana wrote:MugundaMan wrote:VVS,
The day Oxford Ndii will ever be proved right is the day John Maynard Keynes will roll over in his grave. 10 years from now when SGR is at Kisangani and Juba and SGR II is well on its way from Lamu to Lodwar, Ndii will still be crying that SGR and Kenya in general will "collapse soon."
Let's discuss facts vs innuendo.
OK but so far (1 year on) Ndii has been right, no?
JMK might have rolled 36 degrees. Sure we can wait another 9 years for the full 360.
Just as a FYI, we do subsidize the SGR in many ways that aren't shown as subsidies in SGR's financials.
1) Forced movement of goods by SGR vs the old railway and trucks. It's like forcing people to live in Kiambu even though DC might be cheaper.
Flying KQ instead of Fly540.
2) Railway Development Levy on lorries and fuel ironically to support the SGR which is a competitor. That's like you paying property tax on your flats in DC to subsidize someone building flats in Kiambu!
Or taxing fuel used by Fly540 and giving the money to KQ to fly the same route!
3) Was there a feasibility study for MSA-KSM/Malaba? If yes, where is it?
If the SGR's feasibility study showed it made sense then it seems rather short-sighted to stop the SGR at Naivasha.
Please bear in mind the whole deal seems to have been single sourced from China from the (unreleased?) feasibility study (MSA-NBO) to construction to financing. Win-Win for the Chinese.
4) Kisangani in 10 years (2029)? I am ready to take a bet lakini how will we settle it?
VVS,
Like our good friend Oxford Ndii (who has his owners abroad in Britannia) I can tell that you are definitely an A student

I will ask you the same thing I would ask Ndii
1) Who said public goods are supposed to turn a profit? How much have we earned in profits from Uhuru Highway? Sasumua dam? Ruai Sewerage Works? And please do not mention politics or parties in your answer. Politicians can say anything at election time, they can even promise you laptops that fly you to the moon. SGR is an
economic project that is a public good. How many trillions of shillings in
economywide spillover benefits in terms of jobs created (over 40k in direct jobs in phase one construction alone), efficiencies generated, domestic tourist numbers in the coast boosted, etc etc -the list goes on and on- has SGR generated? Ndii is
VERY QUIET when prodded to respond to this.
2) On debt. Who lied to Oxford Ndii that at the macro level an economy should not borrow to develop? Marshall Plan anyone? Financing of early America by the European banking dynasties anyone? Rebuilding of Japan after the war, anyone? Wake us up when GoK DEFAULTS on that debt, which so far, all the agencies domestically and abroad including the WB and IMF say is
sustainable.. Especially given our red hawtt 5% GDP growth rates. BTW how did you guys think we are growing at such rates without both borrowing and SGR? By magic or michezo za kuigiza?
3) About sijui feasibility studies, RDL and forced use LOL! Have you been to other economies? They are WORSE monopolies that force their citizens to do all sorts of things. Obamacare for example is FORCED HEALTHCARE upende usipende. You can actually get fined for not enrolling. Yet I do not see Oxford Ndii complaining there. Try applying for KCB to have a license to open a branch in NYC ...waaaapi

? US Citizens are FORCED to use only allowable domestic banks. Look at the license to fly into NYC for KQ. How many decades did it take to come through? Even then, can KQ fly connecting flights to other US cities? Nope! Because the US population is FORCED by default and by law to monopolise domestic airlines. Whoever lied to you guys that such economies are capitalistic in nature deluded you.
These economies are as socialist and anti-competition as it gets! But they have propagandised the world into thinking they are the beacons of not only capitalism and democracy but human rights (even as they detain without trial at Guantanamo Bay and block all foreign competition from competing in their domestic markets fairly.) Look at Europe and farm subsidies. Does that sound like capitalism to you

? Mambo za feasibility studies na RDL are small operational matters that are water under the bridge bradza. Much like those who complain all day that SGR seats are not comfy. You cannot please everybody all the time. Cha muhimu is that SGR continues to grow in volumes daily!
SGR will reach Kisangani and even beyond my buroddah. You have failed to see the bigger picture. SGR is not just a domestic project but a key plank of OBOR's master plan. Do not let the peni mbili news stories and media wailing fool ya. Remember when media cried for weeks that SGR was dead and would stop at Naivasha because Chinaman "refused" after PORK's "failed" visited to Beijing
waaapi? Oxford Ndii was VERY HAPPY with the news. Yet SGR will plow on all the way to Uganda and then Kisangani.
Watch this space. We can settle with a mbuzi and I hope you won't deliver one of the "hardwood variety"

Shalom