President Moi of Kenya has said that the amount of money needed to rebuild and repair East Africa's roads washed out by unprecedented heavy rains is enormous.

Speaking at the East African road network donors' conference in Arusha, Tanzania, he said funds from domestic and external sources to repair 12,805km of road had been inadequate so far.

The talks were called by the newly-formed East-African Co-operation (EAC) secretariat, which brings together Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Leaders from the countries are discussing the possibility of a $4.6bn loan plan with representatives from the World Bank and the European Union.

President Moi said the first phase of the programme, covering 6,124km, would require over 120 billion Kenyan shillings ($1,89bn) of investment over a period of five years.

Debt burden compounds problems

The president mentioned debt burden, which, though not a primary focus at the meeting, had compounded local economic difficulties and he called for a comprehensive international approach to be adopted in solving the debt problem.

The East-African leaders say heavy rains in January and February 1998 damaged already-neglected roads very badly, adversely affecting economies all over the region.

The rains, blamed on the El Nino weather phenomenon, have not only damaged roads and railways, making access to markets difficult, but also cut crop production.

The huge cost of repair threatens other economic growth sectors, but the governments are keen to boost trade and communication routes.

"The regional road network is critical to the facilitation of regional integration," the EAC said in a statement.

Some $1bn in funding for landlocked Uganda is being sought from the World Bank as a contribution to the country's $2.6bn plan to repair or build 9,000km of roads.

Rail links from the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa to western Kenya and Uganda are currently cut.
 

Back to top | BBC News Home | BBC Homepage	©