Crowds on Friday thronged the burial of a family of six – Onyeka Anyene; his wife, Maimuna; and their four children – in Ndiowu, Anambra State.
The entire family was among the 153 passengers and crew who died in the crash of a Dana Air flight from Abuja-Lagos as it made to land at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
Instead, it crashed into four buildings in Iju Ishaga, on the outskirts of Lagos.
At the burial service at St. Lawrence Anglican Church, schoolchildren, family members, friends and the people of Ndiowu gathered to pay their last respects to the departed before they were buried.
Reports said tears flowed freely at the lying-in-state as well as the funeral service.
Their remains were conveyed to the church in six caskets, evoking painful memories from those who knew them closely. Ahead of the funeral rites, a grave measuring 14x10ft has been prepared in which the family of six will be buried at their residence in Ndiowu.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The U.S. Supreme Court is mulling this week whether to walk down the constitutional aisle of gay marriage. The timing feels especially apt for U.S. Christians, who this week are marking the start of the reflective, pre-Christmas season of Advent. Few groups have played such a key if controversial role in the gay marriage dispute, and few have been as divided by it. (Most U.S. Roman Catholics support gay marriage even though their bishops are among its most vocal opponents.) Now—with a re-elected President backing gay marriage, three states legalizing it last month and another rejecting a bid to ban it—Christians seem to be at a crossroads about homosexuality, much as they were a half century ago about civil rights.
So it might be helpful if Christians looked not at Washington, D.C., but at Kampala, Uganda, where an abominably homophobic “Christmas gift†is about to become law. The anti-homosexuality bill speeding through Uganda’s parliament right now—which that body’s Speaker has pledged will pass by year’s end as a “Christmas gift†to its backers—would impose draconian new punishments. Among them: a seven-year prison sentence for consenting adults who have gay sex, life sentences for people in same-sex marriages and even jail for those who don’t report gays and lesbians in their midst. Fortunately, Ugandan lawmakers say they’ve dropped the bill’s death penalty in cases of “aggravated homosexuality,†when HIV is spread or gay adults have sex with minors. That article had prompted opponents to call the original legislation the “Kill-the-Gays†bill.
Christians worldwide, including Catholics like myself, should find the Uganda bill as relevant as it is repulsive. That’s because Christians in that East African nation—whose lobbying is generously funded by conservative U.S. Christian organizations representing every denomination from Evangelicals to Catholics to Mormons—are perhaps its most influential supporters. In fact, the Uganda Joint Christian Council pushed Parliament this year to expedite the legislation and “remain steadfast in opposing the phenomena of homosexuality.†One Council member, Catholic Archbishop Cyprian Lwanga, opposed a similar bill three years ago, when the Vatican denounced “all grave violations of human rights against homosexual persons.†But since then Lwanga seems to have decided that prison time for gay sex isn’t so grave after all.
Conservative Christians in more developed countries like the U.S. will argue that they’d never advocate something as severe as Uganda’s bill. And some, like leading Evangelical pastor Rick Warren, have to their credit decried that legislation. But I would remind them that 13 U.S. states (including mine, Florida) had anti-sodomy laws in their criminal codes as recently as 2003, when the Supreme Court finally struck them down. Many will insist that their opposition to gay marriage has nothing to do with how they feel about homosexuals personally, and everything to do with their belief that it undermines the functional formation of, if not divine plan for, the vital family institution. I would point out that gay and lesbian couples have been raising perfectly functional, if not divinely acceptable, families for decades now.
No, the real question that conservative Christians from Florida to France to Fiji need to ask themselves at this point is this: By crusading to deny gays and lesbians the legal right to marry—by insisting that God doesn’t consider loving gay unions morally worthy of matrimony and therefore the state shouldn’t either—do they risk demonizing “the phenomena of homosexuality†as inhumanely as the Ugandans are? It’s of course a good thing that the Vatican has condemend the “abuse of homosexual persons.†But as a Catholic, I’m all too aware that Pope Benedict XVI has also said that saving humanity from homosexuals is as crucial as saving rain forests from lumberjacks. And that a Vatican spokesman, after last month’s pro-gay marriage votes in the U.S., made the equally cruel remark that gay marriage is a slippery slope to polygamy. Don’t blame Ugandan Catholics if they’re getting dangerously mixed signals from Rome.
Still, conservative Christians will claim that St. Paul’s denunciation of homosexuality leaves them no scriptural wiggle room. But St. Paul also condoned slavery, and I think we can safely say Christianity has managed to wiggle out of that one, just as Jews today feel OK about ignoring the Torah’s edict to stone non-virgin brides to death. Like everything else in life, religion has to evolve. If it doesn’t—if it remains as rigidly static as so much Christian doctrine has so far in the 21st century—it risks the irrelevance it increasingly faces in the U.S. The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life recently found that a record one-fifth of Americans, including a third of adults under age 30, aren’t affiliated with any religion today.
If the U.S. Supreme Court does take up gay marriage during this session, many legal scholars believe the justices will likely rule that banning it is unconstitutional. That’s partly because, they say, the high court will not want to look as out of touch with history a decade from now as it would today if it hadn’t kiboshed the sodomy laws a decade ago. Eventually, hardline Christendom doesn’t just stand to find itself on the wrong side of history on homosexuality. It could also end up on the wrong side of Christianity, as Ugandan Christendom is this Christmas.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Zambia’s High Court on Monday heard that HIV-positive prisoners were being denied access to life-prolonging drugs and a balanced diet, on the opening day of a landmark human rights case.
Convicted prisoner George Mwanza has accused the authorities of violating his human rights and those of other HIV-positive inmates by failing to provide them with adequate care.
“I have been prevented from accessing the anti-retroviral drugs and therapy from the clinic,” Mwnaza, who is awaiting trial for statutory rape, told a courtroom packed with HIV/AIDS activists clad in white T-shirts.
Priti Patel of the non-governmental Southern Africa Litigation Centre said the case was “the first of its kind” and could have massive repercussions given the high levels of HIV in Zambia’s jails.
More than one in 10 Zambians is HIV-positive.
Mwnaza and his co-plaintiff claim that because of prison staff shortages the government is unable to provide enough wardens to escort them to the clinics and that HIV-positive prisoners received a standard diet of bean and nshima, a thick corn meal porridge that is a staple in Zambia.
HIV sufferers are advised to eat a varied diet of eggs, vegetables, meat, fruits and vegetables.
“The last time I had an egg was in June,” Mwanza said.
Mwanza also argued that overcrowding only worsens their condition, exposing them to opportunistic infections.
He has suffered continuous diarrhoea and has contracted tuberculosis twice while being held with 91 other inmates in a cell meant for 20, he told the court.
The capacity of Lusaka Central Prison, where Mwanza is incarcerated, is 200 but it houses more than 1 600 inmates.
At the end of Monday’s hearing the judge adjourned proceedings until March 11.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
In Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe’s party is holding its annual conference ahead of next year’s polls to end the country’s fragile three-year coalition government. No date has been set for the elections, but Zimbabwe political parties seem to be ready for the polls, with the prime minister indicating that he will not contest again if he loses next year.
The song urges all supporters of President Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party to stand up and be counted.
"President Mugabe says stand up and we count our numbers," says the chorus. It is playing at the venue where President Mugabe’s party is holding its conference, this week. ZANU-PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo says the conference in Gweru – about 300 kilometers southwest of Harare – is most important.
“It is critical because we are going for harmonized election, early next year, and we need to prepare our party sufficiently in order to win handsomely," Gumbo said. "We are interested in hammering party position. We need to come up with a manifesto that relates to the people.”
Gumbo says the 88-year-old head of state is likely to be the presidential candidate in the polls, which are expected by June 2013. President Mugabe claimed victory in the 2008 elections, but regional leaders nullified the polls citing violence on Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party supporters. The two leaders have since formed a power-sharing government at the behest of Southern African Development Community leaders.
Now Tsvangirai and Mugabe’s parties are locked in a disagreement on the contents of a new constitution. A new constitution is one of the conditions set by regional leaders for Zimbabwe to have a free and fair election. Tsvangirai has told his MDC party to start preparing for next year’s elections.
He says he is looking for an action program for his election campaign.
But for Mugabe’s ZANU-PF, losing the next year’s election is out of its matrix. It wants to regain the majority in parliament it lost in the 2008 elections. Spokesperson Rugare Gumbo says the party is well on the way.
“We are quite confident. The party is a well-oiled machine. The party is very strong. There are just a few loose ends that we just need to tie up,” stated Gumbo.
Among those "few loose ends" are condemning violence as Zimbabwe heads for the election. The last elections in Zimbabwe were marred by deadly violence that forced regional leaders to nullify Mugabe’s victory.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Nairobi- A Kenyan court ordered Kenya Airways to reinstate hundreds of sacked workers, a move analysts said would squeeze the flagship airline’s profit margin.
Kenya Airways, which is 26.7 percent owned by Air France-KLM, had shed close to 600 employees earlier this year to cut costs as anemic growth in Europe and rising fuel costs hurt profitability. Some of the workers took voluntary retirement, while others were made redundant.
Okweh Achiando, a lawyer representing 475 dismissed employees said the court ruled the company had failed to consult the workers and negotiate severance terms properly, adding that Kenya Airways had been ordered to reinstate them.
A Kenya Airways spokesman confirmed they had received the ruling and said a statement would be issued shortly.
The retrenchment cost 826 million shillings ($9.65 million)which hurt its first half performance but was expected to save the airline 1.2 billion shillings a year.
Kenya Airways’ wage bill had more than doubled over the past six years to 13.2 billion shillings.
“Their future margins will be thinner so that will mean … their earnings will diminish,” said Johnson Nderi, head of research at Suntra Investment in Nairobi. “The margins are not sufficient to absorb unplanned (cost) overruns.”
Shares in Kenya Airways hit an intra-day low of 11.50 shillings, 3.4 percent down on Friday’s closing price.
“The Kenya Airways management should respect the law and reinstate us since the court has denied them a stay against the ruling ” said Perpetua Mponjiwa, one of the fired employees.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
We are nearly at the end of the “potential future super power” series. It would be remiss of me to skip the African continent in any discussion about the future. Every time we make a new acronym now for emerging markets, we try to insert an “S” for South Africa (for example, the “CIVETS”, which includes Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa). In fact, we even tried to insert an “S”, after the fact, at the end of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China).
South Africa is the largest country in Africa with a throbbing population of 50.6 million. It is a very serious player in the commodities markets as a global mining and mineral processor which controls about three quarters of the world’s platinum production and major shares in palladium, gold, manganese, and diamonds. There is a lot of buzz surrounding South Africa and it seems to have all the makings of a global emerging market with its multi-ethnic population and diverse cultures—11 official languages are recognized in its constitution.
The World Bank ranks it as an upper middle-income country, ranked 28th in the world with a gross national product in purchasing power parity terms of 555 billion (2011) with a GDP per capita of $10,973. It’s stock market is ranked 20th largest in the world. South Africa burst onto the world’s stage in early 2004 with high growth rates and ended that decade with a very successful World Cup in 2010. The question is where does it go from here? Do countries like Brazil and South Africa continually need mega events with strict, hard deadlines to stay credible in the eyes of private capital markets? (Perhaps this represents a new growth model for development i.e. continually hosting large sporting events as a central tenant to emerging markets development and investment plans).
The economy of South Africa is diverse; it is reliant on mining, farming, and tourism. The country has tried to base its future growth on high technology (entrepreneurship, IT, biotechnology, etc) as opposed to manufacturing. South Africa publicly acknowledged that competing with South East Asian economies in manufacturing would be futile—they are right. Thus, it is an unusually insightful country. It has instead decided to focus on scientific and technological innovations. Some noteworthy achievements have been, for example, the first human-to-human heart transplant, vaccine for yellow-fever, cutting edge work in molecular biology, x-rays computed tomography (otherwise known as CT scans to most of us)—all of which have earned South Africa numerous Nobel Prizes. This country has the unique ability unlike any other on this sub-Saharan continent to reinvent itself politically and economically—especially given its size.
Regrettably that does not diminish any of the significant and persistent social, political, and economic problems—unemployment, poverty, and AIDS taking the top slots. Unemployment is high (ranging from 25-40 percent unemployment depending on your source) and income disparity is one of the highest in the world (it is in the top 10 countries). Poverty is extremely prevalent amongst the majority of black South Africans. While most other emerging markets for better or worse, like Brazil or India, have thriving shadow economies (the informal market which is by and large not illicit, but just not taxed, not monitored by the government, and not included in the national GDP), South Africa has a relatively small shadow economy occupying about 15 percent of the jobs—thus not a sufficient outlet for the poor unemployed. Perhaps the most disturbing is that its public health system is being crippled fighting the deadly AIDS disease on a scale we have never seen before. South Africa has the highest number of infected people in the world, approx 6 million. The good news is that it also has the highest domestic investment in the disease in lower- and middle-income countries. The bad news is that it leaves the healthcare system venerable to other issues not being addressed.
Asides from the issues mention above, the list of “things to do” for South Africa is long and complex, for example:
education levels among the black population is substandard
high corruption
economic growth plan is based on natural resources thus unsustainable in the long term
public services requires an overhaul in many arenas
high violent crime
the transfer of agricultural lands owned by whites to black African owners is moving very slowly
the “townships” (huge, informal housing settlements near big cities) are serious thorns in the country’s underbelly
the ever present shortages of clean water and electricity
underdeveloped infrastructure restricting economic activity and social inclusion for its diverse population,
abject poverty with more than 50 percent of children living in poverty. A 2012 UNICEF report found:
1.4 million children live in homes that rely on often dirty streams for drinking water
1.5 million have no flushing lavatories
1.7 million live in shacks, with no proper bedding, cooking, or washing facilities
four in 10 live in homes where no one is employed (and seven in 10 in cases of dire poverty)
330,000 children and 5 million adults are currently infected with HIV and 40 percent die from the disease annually.
I think I should stop making the “to do list,” as with all things African (good and bad), it is overwhelming.
Growth averaged 5 percent from 2004 to 2007, extremely impressive, but growth has slowed with the not so surprising dip into negative territory in 2009 due to the global financial crisis—it now rests between 3-4 percent. For South Africa to bounce forward it must deliver some serious growth numbers over a very long period of time. This is not in the cards unless there is a game changer in the system….I have yet to see one (even rising precious metals and mineral prices will not be enough). Let’s wait and see if there is a game changer but keep in mind medium- to long-term has a different meaning in Africa than it does for private capital markets.
South Africa need to reduce the gap between the rich and poor or it will roll back into political strife—but this is the central modern challenge facing all governments to varying degrees—developed or emerging.
Despite the potential and richness of this country that in many ways represents the soul, rhythm, and heartbeat of Africa; long-term prosperity is still a distant dream for many South Africans.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
National Communication Authority Board Chairman, Mr. Kofi Totobi Quakyi, said on Tuesday that no person or groups of persons would be allowed to cause panic or spread fear in the country during and after Friday’s presidential and parliamentary elections.
He told the GNA in an interview that in this regard, in line with existing regulations, mobile network operators would be held liable for any threats to national security and stability emanating from communications generated from unregistered SIM card numbers.
Mr Quakyi reminded mobile operators of their responsibility to ensure that the integrity of mobile phone users can be verified especially at this time.
“Ghanaians have genuine concerns about peace during and after the elections and all must work to safeguard it,†he said.
Mr Quakyi said it would be a terrible idea to allow a handful of political anarchists to use mobile phones and other form of communication technology for malicious purposes.
“Mobile phone operators owe it to themselves to protect the peace, stability and security of Ghana and we expect their fullest co-operation,†he said.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Kenya’s shilling weakened for a second day as businesses sought to accumulate dollars in anticipation of growing demand ahead of the festive season.
The currency of East Africa’s biggest economy declined 0.1 percent to close at 85.90 a dollar having traded as low as 0.3 percent to 86.01 in Nairobi.
“The weakening of the shilling is due to a build-up of dollar demand as businesses seek to accumulate on expectation that demand will increase in the coming days as businesses ramp up their output and imports to meet festive season spending,†John Muli, a dealer at Nairobi-based African Banking Corp., said by telephone.
Businesses usually import more products as they prepare for increased sales during the Christmas and year-end period. Christians account for 87 percent of Kenya’s 38 million population, according to the CIA World Factbook.
The Central Bank of Kenya accepted all bids of 4.95 billion shillings ($57.6 million) of seven-day repurchase agreements and term-auction deposits, a bank official, who asked not to be identified in line with policy, said by phone. The bank had offered 5 billion shillings for the securities.
The Ugandan shilling weakened 0.6 percent to 2,690 a dollar, while the Tanzanian shilling depreciated less than 0.1 percent to 1,602 a dollar.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the December 7 election, was born on March 29, 1944, in Accra,
His father was the late Edward Akufo-Addo, who became the third Chief Justice of Ghana and later a ceremonial President of the Second Republic from 1969-72.
According to the curriculum vita (CV) on the official NPP website, Nana Akufo-Addo’s father’s residence, Betty House at Korle Wokon in Accra, was effectively the headquarters of the country’s first political party, the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), after it was formed at Saltpond on August 4, 1947.
Nana Akufo-Addo had his primary education at the Government Boys School and later Rowe Road School (now Kinbu) both in Accra Central, and went on to England to study for his O- Level and A- Level examinations.
He returned to Ghana in 1962 to teach at Accra Academy before going to the University of Ghana in 1964 to read Economics and graduated from the University in 1967 with a B.Sc in Economics.
Nana Akufo-Addo read Law in the UK and was called to the English Bar (Middle Temple) in July 1971 and the Ghana Bar in 1975.
He worked in Paris, France, as a lawyer with a renowned international US law firm, Coudert Freres, for five years.
Nana Akufo-Addo joined the chambers of U.V. Campbell from 1975-1979 and in 1979, co-founded the law firm, Akufo-Addo, Prempeh & Co.
Under President John Agyekum Kufuor (January 2001-january 2009), Nana AKufo-Addo served as the Attorney-General and Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Nana Akufo-Addo was elected three times between 1996 and 2004 as Member of Parliament for the Abuakwa South constituency.
He was the flagbearer of the NPP in the 2008 elections but lost to the late President John Evans Atta Mills.
Nana Akufo-Addo was re-elected in 2010 to be the NPP flagbearer in the 2012 election and has served on the boards and committees of a number of political, legal and social organizations in the country.
He was the first Chairperson of DHL, Ghana Limited; Chairperson, Kinesec Communications Company Limited, publishers of the Statesman and the first Chairperson of the Ghana Committee on Human and Peoples Rights. Nana Akufo-Addo was General Secretary of the People’s Movement for Freedom and Justice (PMFJ), which campaigned for a “No†vote in the referendum in 1978 for Union Government proposed by the then military government.
He was the chairman of the Organising Committee of the Danquah-Busia Memorial Club in 1991. The club is dedicated to the preservation of the memory and ideals of two great advocates of Ghanaian democracy, J. B. Danquah and K. A, Busia, Prime Minister of the Progress Party government of the 2nd Republic of Ghana.
In 1992, Nana Akufo-Addo became the first national organiser of the NPP, and, later that year, campaign manager of the party’s first presidential candidate, Prof. Albert Adu Boahen. In 1992, Nana Akufo-Addo set up and financed “The Statesman†newspaper, which has become the unofficial mouthpiece of the NPP. He is married to Rebecca Akufo-Addo (nee Griffiths-Randolph). They have five daughters and two grandchildren.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
President Mwai Kibaki has urged residents of the Coast region and indeed all Kenyans to register as voters in order to be able to fully participate in the country’s democratic process.
President Kibaki particularly appealed to Kenyans of age to take advantage of the ongoing voter registration exercise to enable them vote in the forthcoming elections.
Speaking during the commissioning of the Sh. 10 billion Kipevu III thermal power plant in Mombasa, the President said it was only by taking part in the electoral process that citizens will influence the political and economic agenda of the counties and the country at large.
On that note, the Head of State impressed on Kenyans to be peaceful and learn to tolerate different shades of opinion during the campaign period saying peace and stability remained the foundation of a prosperous Kenya.
” If you don’t register as a voter then how will you participate in choosing the right leaders to govern this nation?” the President asked.
The President noted that it will be foolhardy for any individual to expect good leadership and yet they don’t participate in the registration exercise.
With regard to provision of adequate power supply in the country, President Kibaki expressed the Government’s commitment and determination to significantly increase electricity generation in order to boost production of goods and services and spur Kenya’s industrialization efforts.
The President said, “Over the last 10 years, we have increased national electricity connectivity and significantly improved the installed electricity capacity.”
To meet increased power demands in the country, President Kibaki further reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the development of green sources of energy which are relatively cheaper to run and therefore affordable than oil-based thermal generation.
The Head of State noted that the country’s robust economic growth coupled with fast rising population levels have accelerated the demand for electricity.
“This phenomenon has presented several challenges for us. Firstly, our total installed electricity capacity at 1,500 Megawatts against a peak demand of 1,300 Megawatts leaves little room for generation capacity break down or becomes grossly inadequate under serious drought conditions. Secondly, our country’s electricity per capita consumption of 170 kilowatts hours is very low. In addition, the national electricity connectivity is 30 per cent of the population,” the President said.
To further complement the many local initiatives aimed at meeting the country’s electricity demand, President Kibaki said the government continued to explore non-traditional energy sources.
To this end, the President encouraged establishment of effective regional power pools that allow inter-state sharing of power resources to facilitate the development of bigger projects which would enjoy economies of scale.
Such initiative, President Kibaki said, will also facilitate the development of regional projects that would otherwise have been virtually impossible to undertake by individual countries both for financial and power system stability reasons.
‘Vision 2030 economic blueprint’
He reiterated his Government’s commitment to ensuring an enabling energy policy and legal framework that best facilitates energy production, supply and distribution to provide stimulus for socio-economic transformation as articulated in Vision 2030.
Said the President, “Under the Vision 2030 economic blueprint, it is intended to grow our electricity generation capacity to 21,000 Megawatts in the next 17 years to provide for the projected peak demand of 17,000 Megawatts and a reserve margin of 23 per cent”.
Emphasizing the country’s strategy to diversify the electricity generation mix with a sharp focus on green energy sources such as solar, geothermal and wind power, President Kibaki anticipated that by 2030, more than 90 per cent of Kenya’s population will be connected to power supply, principally from the national grid.
“In this regard, I recently launched the construction of the 280 Megawatts geothermal project at Olkaria geothermal field and it is scheduled for commercial operation by September 2014,” the Head of State added.
Welcoming plans by KenGen to raise its total generation capacity to 3,000 Megawatts by the year 2018, President Kibaki said the increased electricity supply together with another 2,000 Megawatts being implemented by independent power producers underscores the country’s determination to correct the deficit in power generation and lay the foundation for industrialization.
On financing of infrastructural projects in the country, the President commended KenGen for funding the 115 Megawatts Kipevu III Thermal Plant through a local infrastructure bond floated by the company in 2009.
He noted with appreciation that participation by the citizenry in such projects confirms the people’s confidence in the infrastructure projects being implemented and a good example of what can be attained through mobilizing domestic savings for long-term investments.
He therefore called upon other public institutions in the country to emulate KenGen’s example in raising development funds to augment resources provided by the Government.
In his remarks during the function the Minister for Energy Mr. Kiraitu Murungi thanked the President for ensuring peace and stability which he said is a key ingredient for free, fair and peaceful elections.
In this connection, the Minister urged Kenyans to register in large numbers so as to be able to exercise their democratic right of electing leaders of their choice.
On the energy sector, the Minister thanked the President for his support saying when history is written the President will be remembered for the expansion of energy and power supply to all corners of the country.
Mr. Murungi said the Ministry is expanding its activities of exploring more geothermal energy projects and natural gas so as to provide cheap and affordable energy to spur economic activities in the country.
The area MP who is also the Assistant Minister for Environment and Natural Resources Ramadhan Kajembe thanked the President for the many projects initiated in the Coastal region and the country at large, saying the major infrastructural projects and the passage of the new constitution will be a mark of his legacy to be remembered by many generations to come.
He said the many government projects initiated under the President leadership have brought government services closer to wananchi.
On the on-going voter registration, the Changamwe MP noted that the joint efforts of government officials and local leadership in the region has resulted in a calm and peaceful environment which has allowed the locals to participate in the important exercise.
Other speakers included Chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Energy and Communication Eng. James Rege, Assistant Minister for Energy Mr. Magerere Lang’at, Kengen Managing Director Mr. Edward Njoroge, Chairman of Kengen Mr. Titus Mbathi and Coast PC Samuel Kilele.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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