Residents of Garsen Constituency in Tana River County now expect to maximize available economic opportunities in the area following the electrification of 305 households by the national government to the tune of Ksh 34.83 million.
This follows the completion of two projects in Gubeni and Dibe villages under the rural electrification project currently being undertaken by the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum through the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (REREC).
Speaking during the commissioning of the two projects, Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi said the projects being undertaken are deliberate government efforts which are expected to spur economic growth in all villages across the country.
“The National Government through Parliament has allocated about Ksh 500M for Tana River County that will connect more than 4000 households. What President William Ruto has said is that this country must develop equitably and that no region should be left behind,” said Wandayi.
In Gubani village, REREC commissioned the Ksh 9.83 million electrification project which includes a 2.25km low voltage line and a transformer which have seen 164 customers connected to the grid.
REREC also launched a Ksh 25 million electrification project in Dibe village, where 141 customers including Dibe Primary School have been connected to the grid.
The project in Garsen involves construction of 6.912 km MV Line, 4.13km Low Voltage Line and transformer.
“For so long residents of Garsen South Ward have stayed without electricity and that is why the Government has decided to provide power in every village for Kenyans to benefit,” he said.
He went on, “This electrification in Garsen Constituency will now open up to people to participate in local economy and children will be able to go to school to learn and compete favourably with children from other areas.”
Mohamed Dilo who is a beneficiary of the project lauded the project as a game changer when it comes to improving livelihood of livestock keepers in the areas.
“We will now be able set up butcheries here locally. Before, we used to travel 2km, but now we will be able to do these things here.
His sentiments were echoed by Hamisi Dukane who thanked the government for implementing the electrification project which will also reduce human-wildlife conflict and bring health facilities closer.
“This will help improve our local health facilities by bringing dispensaries closer to the people because even now, we still travel more than 2km to seek even emergency medical services,” said Dukane.
Member of Parliament Ali Wario, lauded the project as crucial towards economic liberation of the constituency, and will support job creation among the youth as well as ensure livestock keepers have access to vaccines and modern meat processing plants.
“This project will support job creation among the Gen Z in this constituency. They will be able to open barbershops and saloons because we now have electricity and also we are pastoralists, and we take animal drugs from as far as Mombasa and Malindi. We will now preserve them at home,” said Wario.
REREC is also targeting to collaborate with the county government to equip schools already connected to power under the project with learning materials.
The corporation however urged the communities to ensure sustainability and continuity of the projects which are sometimes affected by vandalism.
“We want to emphasize to the beneficiaries to take care of this infrastructure because there is a lot of vandalism going on in the country after we implement the projects. That is what we are asking for everyone to be accountable,” added Beatrice Njuguna, REREC General Manager, Information, Education and Communication.
Under the Kenya Off-grid Solar Access Project (KOSAP), the government has also constructed five mini-grids in Tana River County to enhance power access.
Since inception, REREC says it has invested Ksh 150 billion in rural electrification projects across all the 290 constituencies with 85pc of the funds coming from the Exchequer while the remaining 15pc being done by development partners.
In turn, the investment has boosted electricity access in Kenya, from an estimated 4pc in 2008 to at least 75pc currently.
