President William Ruto has announced plans to dual the Kenya-Tanzania highway following yesterday’s accident that left several Tanzanian Members of Parliament nursing injuries.
Speaking during the launch of the East Africa Community (EAC) interparliamentary games in Mombasa on Saturday, December 7, Ruto revealed that he had reached an agreement with the region’s Heads of State for the rehabilitation of the highway.
President Ruto announced that the highway would be revamped from Dodoma in Tanzania through Mombasa up to Malindi to ensure the safety of passengers plying the route.
According to the Head of State, trade and tourism opportunities between the two nations would be enhanced once the renovation works along the highway are complete.
President William Ruto (right) and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni at State House in Nairobi on May 16, 2024.
PCS
“Let me say this, our friends from Tanzania, who drive on this road, have now agreed as East Africans that we are now going to dual the road that connects Tanzania and Kenya to Malindi,” Ruto stated.
“The highway will also help us to better explore good opportunities for tourism and leisure that exist between our coastal towns,” the president reiterated.
Addressing the lawmakers, President Ruto also announced the region’s plan to extend the Standard Guage Railways (SGR) from Naivasha to Uganda through Rwanda to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
He explained that the extension of the railway line would further boost transport infrastructure and ease travelling within the East African region.
“I want to give you good news, we have now agreed with Uganda, Rwanda, and DRC that the Standard Gauge Railway will be extended from Naivasha to Ugandan, to Rwanda, and the DRC so that in a few years they can use the SGR whenever they want to come to Mombasa,” Ruto said.
Ruto’s announcement follows yesterday’s tragic accident that left at least 16 Tanzanian MPs injured while travelling to Mombasa for the East African interparliamentary games that kicked off today.
The accident occurred after a bus ferrying the lawmakers reportedly lost control and got involved in a head-on- collision with an oncoming vehicle along the Dodoma-Mombasa Highway in the Mbande area of Tanzania.
While confirming the accident, Dodima Regional Commander George Katabazi revealed that the driver hit the oncoming vehicle after he attempted to overtake along the narrow section of the road.
Katabazi further noted that the driver of the bus had since been arrested and was under police custody even as investigations into the incident commenced.
Wreckage of a bus involved in an accident in Dodoma, Tanzania on Friday, December 6, 2024.
Photo
The Citizen