Lamu Residents Demand Transfer of KPLC Regional Manager over Perennial Power Outages: "Amekaa Sana"

 

Residents of Lamu gathered on Boxing Day to demand the transfer of the Kenya Power and Lighting (KPLC) company regional manager due to lengthy and frequent power outages. Senator Shakila Abdalla led Lamu residents to demand the resolution of the power outage in the region. Photo: @shakilahAbdalla. Source: Twitter The residents were fed up with the disruption in various aspects of their lives as a result of frequent power outages in the region over the last six months.  Sentiments by Senator Shakila Abdalla Speaking for the Lamu residents, Senator Shakila Abdalla said that the region's residents had a constitutional right to get service from KPLC, a parastatal in charge of electricity transmission in Kenya. "We are not asking for any favour; we are asking for our rights, and that's why we are here today to raise our voice to the government of Kenya," said the senator. Sentiments by Lamu residents They said the power blackouts had led to disruptions in the hospitals and at home and losses in their businesses as fish and meat in freezers spoiled. "Water and light have become a major problem here in Lamu, all because the one in charge of KPLC in Lamu has stayed here for a very long time, almost 20 years, and he has forgotten his work.  In Her Father's Land We pay our electricity bill every day, but they keep cutting power supply as if they are giving as an offering," said one of the residents as shown on Citizen TV. Led by Senator Shakila Abdalla, the community leaders in the region have given KPLC an ultimatum of fourteen days to resolve the power outage or relieve the regional manager of his job. CS Chirchir says they know what causes national blackouts In other related news, TUKO.co.ke reported on CS Chirchir's address to the media following the third nationwide power blackout. The Energy CS assured Kenyans that they knew the problem and had plans to stop the blackouts. "We know the problem. We learnt it was an overload and we felt good because we can fix that problem very quickly unlike when it is a hit," CS Chirchir stated. 

by  Elijah Ntongai