First, the loans to build the railway line would have ballooned Kenya’s debt to China to almost a ruinous Sh1 trillion. The result is that most of the money loaned out remains in China and barely translates into local jobs through the expansion of a country’s industrial capacity. This would generate so much revenue for the newly refurbished railway line that the money borrowed—hopefully locally—would be repaid without touching revenues derived from other sources. The failure by earlier promoters of such facilities—beginning with the builders of the much-hyped Kenya Industrial Estates soon after independence—should be a cautionary tale. Second, the failure to secure Chinese funding means that there will not be an influx of Chinese workers with questionable skill sets that are readily available locally.

Source: Standard Digital July 28, 2020 07:01 UTC