On Wednesday, October 23, Deputy President William Ruto came to the defense of the Sh150 billion SGR project that was extended to Naivasha through Suswa in Narok.
Ruto was in Narok County where he launched the Leshuta Market, a project of the Narok County-National Government Affirmative Action Fund.
The October 16 launch of the Nairobi-Suswa SGR line by President Uhuru Kenyatta received a lot of criticism from a section of Kenyans with a number of media outlets terming the project as 'a railway to nowhere'.
" Nawauliza watu wa Narok, Narok ni Kenya ama ni mahali haijulikani? Kwani reli ikikuja Narok, inaenda mahali haijulikani ?(Let me ask you residents of Narok, isn't it known that Narok is in Kenya? And if the SGR passes through Narok, isnt it heading to a known destination?" Ruto posed.
The DP went ahead and reminded Narok residents that the existing railway line that was put up more than a hundred years was regarded as useless in its formative days yet it helped spur growth and development in Kenya.
"Hata ile reli ilijengwa miaka moja iliyopita, kutoka Mombasa hadi Nairobi iliitwa lunatic express, kuwa ni mambo ya wazimu. Lakini ona vile imetusaidia? (even the railway line from Mombasa to Nairobi was regarded as the lunatic express, a mad man's project. But look at how it has helped us as a nation?" the DP posed.
Ruto took a swipe at the critics of the project and advised Narok residents not to lend the critics any attention.
"There are people who will never understand the projects the government executes. No matter what you do, they will always object and pour cold water on the projects," Ruto stated.
Before he concluded his speech, the DP asked Narok residents to shun persons who are opposed to government projects like the extension of the SGR line.
The DP also launched a newly constructed laboratory at Leshuta Secondary School and commissioned the use of a new school bus by students of Leshuta Primary School.
