Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho has said he is not against the standard gauge railway, but has a problem with the way the project was implemented.
Joho said it was forced on Kenyans, and many people in Mombasa lost their jobs.
“Let’s face it, hate it or like it, the SGR has cost us as a people,” the governor said at the Kenya School of Government on Wednesday.
Joho was giving his views to the Building Bridges Initiative Task Force during a public forum in Mombasa.
The governor, who has been a vocal critic of the railway, claimed it was a tool to settle political scores. However, after burying the hatchet with President Uhuru Kenyatta, he toned down his attacks.
“I have never opposed the SGR. I’m only opposed to the manner the SGR was undertaken. Our people are suffering,” he said.
He said the Sh320 billion project was used as a political tool without regard to the long-term effects it would have.
“Two days ago, long distance truck drivers were demonstrating because their jobs have been taken away,” Joho said.
Kenya Long Distance Truck Drivers and Allied Workers Union members held peaceful protests in Mombasa against foreigners they accuse of taking their jobs. The governor said this will escalate insecurity because of unemployment. He said it is easy for young people without jobs to resort to crime.
“Two days ago, three people were slashed at Kadzandani. Insecurity has become a big challenge,” Joho said.
He linked the upsurge in insecurity in Kadzandani, Junda, Likoni and Kisauni to lost jobs owing to the SGR.
“Do we ask ourselves that very important question – what could be the cause? Do we have opportunities for these young people?” Asked Joho.
However, he said the investment in the Blue Economy is a step in the right direction since the Coast region had been neglected for far too long.
“We were the last to get universities, then you expect us to compete with people who had universities at their doorsteps all along. How?” he asked.