Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Raila criticises conditions on aid



By John Oyuke
Prime Minister Raila Odinga has warned that conditions attached to western aid are undermining efforts to enable the poor access cleaner energy and power.
He appealed to institutions financing investment in energy to review conditions attached to the loans to allow more players access the funds to help provide clean energy to the poor.
In a statement from Oslo, Norway, where he was addressing the Energy Plus Partnership Conference, Raila said Kenya is currently pursuing several programmes to increase access to clean energy.
These, he said, include a shift from hydro to geothermal power, development of clean coal technologyand the Kerosene-Free Kenya Programme.
He said the Kerosene Free Kenya aims to make solar lanterns and solar panels, green charcoal and improved cooking stoves available to 10 million households in the next two years.
Raila who arrived in Oslo on Sunday for a two-day visit, appealed to Norway and the international development agencies to consider supporting the Kerosene-Free Kenya initiative.
energy conference
The conference is organised by the Government of Norway and is convened under the theme "Energy Partnership, Energy for All, financing access for the poor."
It seeks to explore ways for universal access to energy, and sources of finance for such programmes for the poor.
It was opened by the Prime Minister of Norway Mr Jens Stoltenburg and addressed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Meles Zenawi, among other leaders.
Raila said Kenya has made great progress in rural electrification and in exploring geothermal power.
He, however, appealed for support saying the investments have immense budgetary implications.
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