Electricity is economic freedom

Although taking a lot of salt could also be problematic for such an age due to high blood pressure, it still is an age that is both delicate and reverent, that needs looking after.

The age one becomes the elder and commands respect in the village. However, most importantly, it is the age of facing the reality of impaired eyesight.

There is no better time, therefore, to be living and experiencing light than at 60 and beyond—if your blindness or failing eyesight is not a congenital issue to start with, that is.

Even then, the blind nowadays need light and power to live better lives, perhaps than that lived by the blind of days gone by, as more gadgets need a plug or two to enhance their lives.

It would be in order, therefore, for the citizenry to be emphatic about having uninterrupted electric power supply.

The perennial blackouts in Kenya are an issue of concern on very many different levels. First, it symbolises the ineptitude within the government. That either it cannot keep people’s homes powered and the country run and lit for longer than it is.

It’s of concern that the same government has no grips on what challenges the power industry faces until the country is plunged into darkness. Then it starts to blame the monkey (literally!) and the past regimes.

The responsibility of keeping the country running will always fall on the shoulders of the incumbent government. Theirs is to reassure the country wherever there is trouble but not pass the buck. Politics ends as soon as a regime has been sworn in.

Sadly, the current government is still playing politics with people’s lives, a year since it came to power. Matters of national importance and touching on national security, such as airports, and power supply should always be above politics!

This year’s 60th anniversary of independence in Kenya has been a low-key event. Perhaps, those who got the presidential commendation may have something to celebrate in gaining points for sycophantic praise but the rest of the country had little to celebrate.

The gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider. Our public infrastructure and institutions are creaky and poorly managed and funded six decades after independence.

Emancipate the country

December 12 is a time for Kenya to celebrate its independence from Britain, its former colony. The freedom obtained was to emancipate the country from poverty, illiteracy, diseases and poverty of ideas.

None have budged since. Those who attend public schools and hospitals still get a rough shod as politicians continue to believe taxes are theirs for the taking.

Hence, use them to get the best education for their children and the best healthcare for their families and a golden pension. Anybody below the stairs in Kenya is set for a life of illiteracy, preventable diseases (unless donors step in with nets) and poverty.

Emancipation comes in various forms and shades. It is freedom to live a better life than that left by the colonialists. Six decades of independence should mean emancipation from poor power supply, rationing, poverty, diseases and illiteracy.

Above all, economic emancipation should be at the front and centre of a country that believes itself to be free. Without economic emancipation, all else fails.

Uninterrupted power supply is what holds together the industries, socioeconomic activities such as schools, hospitals and the stock exchange. Just an hour of power interruption is a huge loss to any business and consequently that has a knock-on effect on revenue collection.

Leapfrogged us

Many countries that our ministers love to spend our money in, such as Dubai and Singapore, started on the same keel as Kenya but have leapfrogged us because they do not entertain corruption and, secondly, invest in core projects such as power and water industries to enable the country to keep ticking and to prosper.

Kenya is not in the dark for lack of power but due to poverty of ideas that lets corruption rule its stomach than development rule its head. As one of the largest producers of geothermal energy, it boggles the mind as to why there should be poor supply of electricity. We are blessed with solar, wind, hydro and geothermal energy, from which we obtain most of our electricity supply—80 per cent, to be precise.

The latest reports indicate that Kenya is set to be one of the leading producers of renewable energies. The question, then, is where does all this power disappear to and why is it not enough to keep the country powered seamlessly?

Africa is referred to as the “dark continent” (a term I despise) but, given its attempts to sabotage its own power industries, the nickname is self-inflicted.

- Ms Guyo is a legal researcher, [email protected], @kdiguyo