Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi at the Gogo Power Plant./KNA
The Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum, Opiyo Wandayi, has said the government has secured Sh5 billion to upgrade and expand the Gogo hydro plant to step up power generation from two to 8.6 megawatts.
Wandayi, who spoke during the tree-planting session at Midida Primary School in Uriri Sub County in an effort to conserve water for the Gogo Power Plant, said that Migori County has so far benefited from Sh6 billion electrification programme.
He said Sh800 million of the funds was allocated to Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Cooperation (REREC) for infrastructure development, power distribution, and last-mile connectivity.
Wandayi disclosed that the Ministry of Energy was committed to addressing the shortage of power in the country, saying the upgrade of the Gogo hydro plant will mitigate some of the power outages in the region as well as create job opportunities for the residents.
The CS committed that he would ensure that more funds were allocated to counties to ensure power connectivity was improved across the country.
Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wanday plants a tree at Midida Primary School in Uriri Sub County to conserve water for the Gogo Power Plant./KNA
Wandayi also disclosed that the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, as of March this year, had planted eleven million trees, an initiative towards helping the government achieve forest cover of 30 per cent by 2030.
He emphasised the importance of sustainable environmental practices and called on residents to take personal responsibility in the fight against deforestation.
He noted that tree growing, as opposed to just planting, must involve nurturing trees to maturity to ensure long-term ecological benefit
CS Wandayi also said that the initiative aimed at engaging forest conservators and hundreds of local farmers to plant more than 500,000 trees across the Nyanza region, with the purpose of reversing deforestation and restoring degraded landscapes.
“My Ministry has issued out 100,000 seedlings to Migori County to plant during these long rains so as to help to improve and conserve Gogo Power Plant and other wetland areas," Wandayi said.
He encouraged the locals to continue with the tree-planting programme in order to boost the forest cover, which, he said, was below two percent.
Migori Governor Ochilo Ayacko said that the Gogo Hydro plant expansion was one of the government's project initiatives that will change the lives of people.
Ochilo encouraged the CS Opiyo to ensure that those regions that were still lagging behind in terms of power connectivity are given more priority to help the country grow economically.
The governor said that his administration will be working closely with the national government to initiate and complete key energy initiatives to improve power connectivity across the 12 sub-counties.
