President Mwai Kibaki: Better road network key to economic development

Poor communication network has impeded trade and investment within East African and slowed down the region’s integration, according to delegates at an infrastructure conference held irecently in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Opening the three-day conference , President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya urged the region’s leaders to undertake the construction of international roads linking various regional trading blocs in Africa. This, he said, would create increased opportunities for trade and investment in a globally competitive market capable of attracting increased investments

The conference explored ways of achieving quality infrastructure so as to promote maximum regional trade; social economic and political integration and highlighted the benefits of research to drive infrastructure development.

Professionals from the sector, policy-makers, manufacturers and representatives of civil society groups attended the conference and proposed practical recommendations for various issues facing infrastructure development in the region.

The conference incorporated all sectors of infrastructure, namely: roads, railways, housing, telecommunications, energy, and aviation. Among the countries which participated in the conference, whose theme was “Good Infrastructure, Better Life” were Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania and the Republic of Southern Sudan.

Peter Kibinda, the director of Planning at the Kenyan Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development, said the challenges of housing in East Africa include inadequate infrastructure, environmental degradation, high rates of unemployment, poverty and lack proper policies on rural housing.

He called for the development of all-inclusive urbanization policies.

Kibinda added that efficient transport systems would solve the problems of urban slums and rural-urban migration, “because people can travel up to a distance of 100 km within one hour. Can we use other criteria for designing our cities other than zoning based on economic class?”

The conference also reviewed progress made in regional infrastructure development and deliberated on emerging challenge of climate change within the East African Community (EAC).

President Kibaki said it was not enough for EAC member countries to have roads linking various parts of their countries adding that they should plan those linking the entire region.

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