President Uhuru Kenyatta when he commissioned Sh1.69 billion Lokichar sub-station electricity project, implemented through the Rural Electrification Authority, in Turkana County, July 10, 2017. [Photo: PSCU] President Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned a mega electricity project that connects Turkana County to the national grid, boosting the residents’ access to reliable and affordable electricity. The Sh1.69 billion Lokichar sub-station electricity project, implemented through the Rural Electrification Authority, is an initial step towards providing sufficient energy for sustained development in line with the Jubilee’s development agenda. The project currently covers Lokichar and Kalemung’orok towns but plans are underway to extend it to Lodwar and other towns in the county. Speaking when he commissioned the project, Kenyatta said the residents of Turkana would no-longer operate under the darkness as they would also enjoy light just like their fellow Kenyans in other parts of the country. “From now on, there will be no darkness in Turkana, this morning we switched on a government diesel powered generator in Kakuma and they will no-longer be paying Kshs 50 per day to people who privately-own diesel generators. They will instead only be charged Kshs 250 per month,” he said, Monday.
The president, who was accompanied by his Deputy William Ruto, pointed out that the commissioning of the project was another step towards lighting up the whole county of Turkana, saying soon Lodwar town would be connected to national grid thereby doing away with diesel powered generators. “With this project in place, the perennial power blackouts will soon be a thing of the past. The residents will now enjoy electricity without experiencing outages,” said Kenyatta. Deputy President urged the locals to turn out in large numbers on August 8 and vote for Jubilee which has demonstrated its commitment to serving all Kenyans.