Questions are being asked, against no answers, from the Energy Cabinet Secretary Dr Monica Juma on why the ministry and the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) have failed to implement the second tranche of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s directive.
Initially, the so-called ‘Christmas gift’ would have been effected by December 31, 2021 before it was revised to come into two tranches of 15 percent.
The Ministry had pledged to implement the last tranche by end of March, 2022.
Incidentally, National Assembly, voted a supplementary budget to recover the ‘lost income’ to Kenya Power in what appears to confirm that the second tranche would not come after all.
It is not the first time President Kenyatta’s directives have failed to be implemented by his technocrats on account of having missing consultations prior to such announcements as well as unforeseen legal hurdles.
Electricity is a key factor of inflation and affects productivity of both individuals and investments.
Analysts estimate that President Kenyatta’s tenure has seen electricity costs double between 2013 to date.
This is in sharp contrast with what Jubilee Government had promised but failed to deliver – not more than US cents per kilowatt unit of power.
Kenya’s electricity costs, like those of fuel, are choked with high levels of taxes and levies.
