The National Environmental Tribunal continued the Public Hearings regarding Save Lamu‘s objections to the issuance of a license by the National Environmental Management Authority to Amu Power for the proposed Lamu coal plant’s Environmental and Social Impact Assessment. The hearings were set to begin on Monday 29 May 2017 at the
President Uhuru Kenyatta returned from China’s “New Silk Road” summit with $3.7 billion loans to finance the standard gauge railway to Kisumu. This brings the Chinese loans for the project close to $9 billion, equal to the total foreign debt that he found when he took office. While in Beijing,
This thesis is the result of several months of research including a four month fieldtrip to Central Kenya by Martin Neumann. The fieldtrip was conducted within the Research Program of the Cocoon Initiative (Conflict and Cooperation over Natural Resources in Africa executed by the African Studies Centre, Leiden and South
Kenyans pay high prices for electricity up to USD$0.19/kWh for residential customers compared to about US$0.10 in South Africa which is a barrier to the country’s sustainable economic development. The country is also expecting a steep rise in demand. To address this Kenya is modernising its electricity system and shifting away from costly diesel generators.
Many people will die of ailments and the health burden will be massive if the proposed Sh200 billion Lamu coal-fired power plant becomes operational, an expert witness said. Testifying before the National Environment Tribunal in Nairobi yesterday, economist Ernest Niemi said studies show the social cost of the project will
Kenya has one of the most promising futures in all of Africa, but is about to make a strategic mistake similar to one that oil-rich Angola made in 2006. That year, Angola agreed to borrow $14.5 billion from China in a resources-for-infrastructure deal, repayable in barrels of oil. But it
“When people rise, power changes hands. Instead of the governments imposing projects on us as local communities, they will resort to consultations before investing on mega projects. Also, power in the hands of the locals will enhance community ownership in any project which has an adverse impact on their lives.”
A fight has been brewing and it is about to boil over. The issue is coal and it pits powerful business interests and the Lamu community against each other. Under the ambitious LAPPSET programme, the Government of Kenya plans to build it’s very first coal plant. Worth conservatively at Kshs 200 billion, the
A government human rights watchdog has raised the red flag on the ongoing mega infrastructure projects in Lamu and wants MPs to intervene to protect local communities from “devastating effects”. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has petitioned the parliamentary Committee on Environment and Natural Resources to investigate
The Government has entered into a Sh 206billion power deal with a Chinese firm to build and operate Lamu Power project. Read more at: President Uhuru Kenyatta witnessed the signing of the deal between China Power Global and Kenya’s Amu Power in Beijing, China. Energy Cabinet Secretary (CS) Charles Keter