Cabinet Secretary of Energy and Petroleum James Wandayi commissioned KPLC Last Mile Connectivity Projects at Kalima Kilonzi in Yatta/Kwa Vonza Ward and at Musosya-Musenya in Kisasi Ward, Kitui Rural Constituency, Kitui County, accompanied by area Member of Parliament Hon. David Mwalika Mboni, with whom they also undertook public engagements at both venues. The commissioning, which involved the erection of a much-needed power transformer, will now bring more residents into the national grid and stands as a clear demonstration of the Ministry’s commitment to connecting rural households. Beyond the symbolism of switching on power, the exercise represented a deliberate and practical intervention in the long-standing challenge of energy exclusion that continues to define many rural communities across Kenya. In a country that has made impressive strides in power generation yet still grapples with unequal distribution, the events in Kitui were a reminder that development is most meaningful when it reaches the grassroots.
Kitui County, with its expansive semi-arid landscape and widely dispersed settlements, has for decades embodied the structural difficulties of rural electrification. Households here have historically depended on kerosene lamps, firewood, and charcoal, energy sources that are not only inefficient but also costly to health, the environment, and productivity. Children study under dim light, traders close shops early, and farmers are unable to add value to their produce. The Last Mile Connectivity Project directly confronts these realities by extending power from existing transformers to households that have long lived just beyond the reach of the grid. The commissioning at Kalima Kilonzi and Musosya-Musenya therefore marked more than the installation of infrastructure; it signaled an intentional effort to dismantle the invisible barriers that keep rural communities on the margins of national progress.
…CONTINUE READING
Leave a Reply