Kenyans to run standard gauge railway once complete

The standard gauge railway in Kenya will be fully run by Kenyans after its construction is completed the country’s transport ministry has said. The government of Kenya sees skills transfer as a major issue in order to ensure seamless operation and management of the railway line upon its official launch.

Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Transport Irungu Nyakera says that the current jobs that are being done by the Chinese will be left to Kenyans who are currently training on Railway technology.

He added that the government will ensure that all graduates in railway technologies gets jobs that are expected to be created by the multi-billion project whose construction is nearing completion.

“Most Chinese firms are carrying out most of the jobs in the transport sector because we lack specialized personnel who can carry out the job perfectly but in the next few years most Kenyans will have occupied the jobs” he added.

The transport PS said that currently the government is ensuring that the Kenyan professionals are exposed to the current construction technology to ensure that they carry out various infrastructure projects in the country.

Mr Nyakera added that they are training a number of people on railway technology to ensure that they fulfill their manifesto that they pledged to create more jobs in the Kenyan soil.

“So far, the standard gauge railway project has created job opportunities for Kenyans with China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) having directly employed 19,000 workers and additional 8,000-plus employed by sub-contractors,” he added.

The officials also added that they seek to enhance infrastructure sector in Kenya and lauded the Kenya Railway Training Institute’s efforts in ensuring that they are training a number of human workforce to fulfill the Agenda.

He added that they will ensure they pump money to various training institutions to ensure that they get the best graduates to be able to carry out various projects that are on the boom in the African.