Mr Fernandes Barasa. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Homes along wayleaves for power lines are set to get free
electricity connection in a plan by a State transmission company to
minimise costly conflicts with landowners.
Kenya
Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) plans to include costs for
connecting such households in financial proposals for faster
implementation.
Fernandes Barasa, the Ketraco managing
director, says homes where the lines pass will get electricity in
partnership with the Rural Electrification Authority besides cash
compensation packages.
This should help people to
appreciate the benefits of power lines, thus reducing resistance and
costly compensation in getting wayleaves, he said.
The electricity transmission monopoly spends billions of
shillings in land compensation annually, costs which are sometimes more
than market values.
Bigger benefits
“The
plan is that when we have financing for the whole project, we also have
a corresponding financing for rural electrification so that the locals
also feel part and parcel of the bigger benefits of the big lines,” Mr
Barasa said in an interview.
“One of
the biggest challenges we are facing is wayleave acquisition where
landowners are demanding exorbitant compensations as much as 10 times
the market value.”
The rural
electrification project is being piloted on the proposed high-voltage
93.1-kilometre Isinya-Namanga line whose construction deal was last
October awarded to North China Power Engineering Company.
The
400 kiloVolt (kV) line — set for completion by the end of 2019 — will
cost $26.67 million (Sh2.69 billion), co-funded by the African
Development Bank ($22.42 million) and the government ($4.25 million).
Despite the recent economic drag responsible for sluggish regional
growth, African economies are rapidly expanding, offering significant
opportunity for private enterprises and investors across the globe, a
report has shown.
This, according to a report launched by the International Finance
Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, on new investment
opportunities in Africa, at the 6th Africa CEO Forum, in Abidjan, Cote
d’Ivoire, finds that the region’s economic potential is beyond
recovering commodity prices, but other forces like favourable
demographic trends, economic reforms, infrastructure investment, buoyant
services sectors, and strong agricultural production.
Entitled Shaping the Future of Africa: Markets and Opportunities for
Private Investors, in partnership with the Africa CEO Forum, the report
notes that growth recovered from a two-decade low of 1.3 per cent in
2016 to an estimated 2.4 per cent in 2017, is projected to improve
further to 3.6 per cent in 2020.
The report states that certain sectors show potential for high growth
due to productivity gains or consumer demand. “Food production and
agriculture stand out in a region that continues to import food, while a
rapidly urbanising population requires more choice. Africa’s need in
infrastructure remain vast, and a range from power to transport to
sanitation, among other areas.“Beyond conventional policies to improve productivity, adopting innovative practices and technology can help Africa’s growth through leapfrogging. Access to finance, for example, is low, yet Africa has led the world in innovative financial services based on mobile telephony, that is opening new opportunities to increase financial and other services through reliable payment systems.”
It also highlights obstacles that has continued to constrain Africa’s development and competitiveness, which include lack of financing and the infrastructure gap. It also states that joint efforts by governments and private sector, supported by development partners, can beat address such challenges and create opportunities.
Vice President, Economics and Private Sector Development, IFC, Hans Peter Lankes, assures that there are considerable opportunities for investors to seize on favourable trends, adding that Africa’s growing middle class is consuming a wide range of goods and services, while technology is changing the services delivered to consumers. “The result is enormous potential across a range of sectors in Africa.”
Founder and President, Africa CEO Forum, Amir Ben Yamid, described the report as a demonstration of the abundance business opportunities today in Africa, noting that the event was founded to provide a dialogue that engages business leaders and helps investors turn the opportunities into successful projects that create jobs and drive Africa’s economic development.
IFC Vice President for the Middle East and Africa, Sergio Pimenta said the continent is the top priority for IFC. He said IFC aims to mobilise more private capital to address development and inclusive growth challenges in Africa, notably in infrastructure and agribusiness.
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