Uhuru, Kibaki are fathers of Kenya's modernisation – analyst

Peter Kagwanja says Thika Super Highway and SGR are their landmark achievements.

In Summary
  • The analyst said Kenyans will never forget that Uhuru gave them the Expressway which eased movement from Waiyaki Way to Mlolongo.

  • Kibaki is also remembered for stabilising the economy after years of stagnation and economic mismanagement during the Moi era.

Political Analyst Peter Kagwanja
Political Analyst Peter Kagwanja
Image: FILE

Political Analyst Peter Kagwanja has opined that former Presidents Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta are the fathers of modernisation in Kenya. 

He said the two former Presidents brought great development and modernised the country. 

"Uhuru as a development leader did better than any other leader I know of after independence.  You can say all things about him but you can never forget that he is the one who gave us the speed railway (SGR)," he said.

Kagwanja spoke on Wednesday during an interview with KTN. 

He said just like the Moroccans will never forget Mohamed V for giving them a speed train that moves at 320km/h, Uhuru gave Kenyans a train that moves at 120km/h which when put on electricity will move from Mombasa to Nairobi in 3 hours.

"Now it is moving us the same distance for 5 hours when put on diesel," Kagwanja said. 

The analyst said Kenyans will never forget that Uhuru gave them the Expressway which eased movement from Waiyaki Way to Mlolongo.

"Uhuru is the father of modernisation together with Kibaki. Basically from where Kibaki was, he shot our electric connection up. In Sub Saharan Africa, we are the most electrically connected country and we can never forget that," Kagwanja said. 

He said the country now has up to 77 per cent electric connection infiltrating even in the rural areas, far better than the likes of Tanzania or South Africa.

Kibaki is credited with the success story that is the Thika Superhighway whose construction commenced in 2009 and the road inaugurated in November 2012. 

Kibaki is also remembered for stabilising the economy after years of stagnation and economic mismanagement during the Moi era.

Kenya's economy during Kibaki's reign experienced a major turnaround.

The GDP growth picked up from a low 0.6 per cent in 2002 and recovered to 5 per cent in 2010 and by 5 per cent in 2011.

When Kibaki took over in 2002, development resumed in all areas of the country, including the hitherto neglected and largely undeveloped semi-arid region in northeastern.

Numerous state corporations that had collapsed during Moi's reign were also revived and began performing profitably.

The telecommunications sector boomed.

Kibaki also introduced the Constituency Development Fund in 2003 which was designed to support grassroots development projects at the constituency level.

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