Ethiopia vs Kenya – The Chinese standard gauge rails compared

East Africa plays host to two of the continent’s most modernized rail transport system. Regional economic giants, Kenya and Ethiopia have both launched Standard Gauge Railways (SGR) in less than year.

Both SGRs underscore the deepening Sino-Africa engagement given that both were predominantly financed and built by the Chinese. Both countries primarily aim to boost transport (passenger) and trade (cargo) through the tracks.

Beyond the similarities, here are some key differences between the two multi-million dollar projects which will undoubtedly boost the respective economies of both countries.

The Addis Ababa – Djibouti rail line

1. It is an international rail line linking the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to the Red Sea state of Djibouti.
2. It was launched in October 2016 and is 756 km long.
3. The cost of the project is pegged at $3.4 billion predominantly financed by China Exim Bank (70%) and the Ethiopian government.
4. Ethiopia’s rail line is powered by electricity which makes it more expensive to run. The electrified double-track is expected to slash the journey time between the two countries to under 10 hours. 
5. It is the single biggest project aimed at opening up landlocked Ethiopia – an economic giant of the East Africa region.
6. The two countries (Ethiopia, Djibouti) have instituted a joint company to run the railline.

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Ethiopia launches new railway to Djibouti

The Mombasa – Nairobi rail line

1. The Kenyan rail connects the capital, Nairobi, to the port city of Mombasa, making it more of an internal rail line.
2. It is reputed as Kenya’s biggest infrastructure project since it attained independence over five decades ago.
3. It is costed at $3.2 billion despite being 250km less than that of Ethiopia. Each kilometer of the track alone is believed to cost $5.6m.
4. It is a 506km rail line also financed by the Chinese. 
5. The rail line is to be powered by fuel, i.e. diesel.
6. The government explains that it will handle more cargo as compared to that of Ethiopia.

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Trains set sail on Kenya’s new 472 km Mombasa-Nairobi rail line

What are SGRs?

A Standard Guage Railway is one that is built based on a uniform distance, or width between the inner sides of the rail. It was adopted upon the expansion of rail tarnsport as part of efforts to allow inter-connectivity and inter-operability.

It is estimated to account for about 55% of global raillines. Except in Russia, Uzbekistan and Finland, all high-speed rails are SGR. It is worth noting that the United States does not also follow SGR specifications Read more here

IICT to tie up with Ethiopian chemical, construction authority

Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) is expected to make a twin arrangement with Ethiopia’s Chemical and Construction Inputs Development Institute (CCIDI) to help the latter enhance capabilities to become globally competitive.

Ethiopia expects help from their Indian associate in chemical inputs, construction chemicals, enabling industry, self-reliance, education and training and testing and certification.

The African country’s delegation led by Alamu Sime, State Minister for Industries and Director General Samuel Halala, reached out to India as many Ethiopian nationals study here.

Ethiopia already has a contract with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s Centre for Leather Research Institute in Chennai since 2011. The CLRI has been aiding Ethiopia’s Leather Industry Development Institute in research.

“They seek IICT’s support as they need trainers to help them develop simple and effective business development strategies. We will be the natural Research and Development partner as we have a pool of scientists whose expertise are clearly located in their areas of interest and concern,” said D. Shailaja, Senior Principal Scientist and Head Business Development and Research Management, who facilitated the meet. The Ethiopians will also scout all the 37 CSIR laboratories for R&D aid.

Speaking to The Hindu, Ethiopian Minister, Mr. Sime said, “The plan could take at least a year to work out. We will enter into a memorandum of understanding weighing all our options. We will sign the MoU either at the end of this year or the next”.

Meanwhile, Director General Halala said Ethiopia got good support from India in the past because of which they hope to retain the bilateral research ties even in the future. “The CSIR’s aid in training and capability building has allowed the growth of leather research in Ethiopia by a considerable percentage. The IICT is one of our top priorities for developing construction chemicals,” Mr. Halala said.

Once IICT signs the MoU it will offer Ethiopian industries support in enabling their industry in chemical development sector. Read more here

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, received a phone call from Hailemariam Desalegn, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, on Sunday evening, in which they explored methods of strengthening bilateral friendship and co-operation.

While discussing avenues of joint co-operation in areas of economy, development and trade, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the Ethiopian prime minister stressed the importance of expanding them further to serve interests of the two countries and their people.

They also exchanged views on a range of regional and global developments of mutual interest.

He also received a call from Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Sunday evening, in which they conferred on the latest regional and global developments.

During the conversation, they discussed ways of enhancing bilateral friendship and co-operation to serve mutual interests. Read more here

Kenyan police nab 34 more Ethiopian aliens

NAIROBI, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan police have arrested 34 more Ethiopians in the outskirts of Nairobi for being in the country illegally.

Juja divisional police commander Patricia Nasio said the aliens who had arrived in the country aboard a bus were arrested from a residential house after arriving in Juja area off Thika highway.

"Their being in the country is being contested and that is why we arrested them. We are looking for the owner of the house where they were found," Nasio said on Monday.

The police commander said the suspects were arrested and detained at the local police station and are expected in court on Monday.

The owner of the house where they were escaped. Juja police boss Patricia Nasio said the officers were alerted by locals.

The arrest comes after the police last week arrested 40 Ethiopians from a house in Nairobi for being in the country illegally.

The aliens aged between 10 and 25 could not speak in English and Swahili but told police through a translator they were headed for South Africa.

The police have on several occasions rounded up dozens of illegal immigrants, especially from Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea who have been discovered locked up in congested rooms in Kenyan towns and cities but the trade continues to thrive even as many were repatriated.

The immigrants are said to be using Kenya as their transit route to other countries such as South Africa or other European countries.

Many aliens from regional countries have managed to sneak in the county with the help of brokers after paying hundreds of shillings.

But refugee rights organizations and aid agencies have blamed poverty in Africa for the rising cases of human trafficking.

They said that the huge supply of labor both skilled and unskilled makes them vulnerable to criminal syndicates. Read more here

Australian husband of diplomat kept Ethiopian girl as sex slave and ‘abused four maids’

FOUR maids were abused by Russell Howard, the Australian husband of US diplomat Linda Howard, who kept an Ethiopian girl as a virtual prisoner and sex slave.

The Australian has exclusively revealed that as well as keeping the girl as his sex slave while living with his wife on a diplomatic posting in Tokyo, he also abused three further maids.

Russell Howard, who died in 2012 following a US Department of Justice investigation into the Ethiopian maid, abused other women in Yemen.

New evidence uncovered by the a US State Department investigation claims this happened while Linda Howard was on a posting in the Middle Eastern country.

Linda Howard has since moved to Victoria, where she lives in the Melbourne suburb of Docklands.

The US embassy in Tokyo, Japan, where the Ethiopian woman said she was kept a sex slave by the Australian husband of US Diplomat Linda Howard.Source:Supplied

A US court awarded the Ethiopian woman more than $3.3m via a posthumous fine against Russell Howard after Linda Howard had taken residence in Melbourne.

US judge Liam O’Grady ordered Linda Howard to pay the damages after finding the couple liable of trafficking, sexual and forced labour.

In 2015, Justice Jack Forrest of the Victorian Supreme Court ruled Linda Howard pay the victim. The matter was settled confidentially after mediation.

Documents obtained by The Australian reveal the Ethiopian maid told investigators she worked 80 hours a week for $1 an hour.

She said Howard raped her in her bedroom for the first time a month after she had arrived in Tokyo in early 2009 while his wife was at work in the US embassy.

But both the Australian Federal Police and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) declined to pursue investigations at the time, citing a lack of jurisdiction.

By August 2009, the DOJ agreed to consider the case under federal trafficking laws.

US agents in Yemen interviewed a former maid who also alleged sexual abuse by Howard, and two further alleged abuse victims were identified. Read more here