- REREC is also implementing 22 other electrification projects in the county at Sh172.5 million.
- This is aimed at connecting over 966 new customers to the national grid.
Image: HANDOUT
Tana River has become the latest county to ink a deal with the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (REREC) on the implementation of key rural electrification projects in the county.
Under the collaborative framework which falls under the Matching Fund Program, projects worth Sh30 million will be undertaken in Galole, Garsen and Bura constituencies.
This partnership entails the county committing Sh15 million, matched by REREC with a similar amount, to initiate electrification projects in these areas.
REREC is also implementing 22 other electrification projects in the county at Sh172.5 million, aimed at connecting over 966 new customers to the national grid.
Speaking during the signing ceremony, REREC board chair Godfrey Lemiso highlighted the significance of the Matching Fund program in widening connectivity in the country.
The initiative is an innovative participatory approach to financing projects where REREC collaborates with counties and constituencies through the National Government Constituency Development Fund by contributing a shilling for a shilling, up to a maximum of Sh5 million per constituency.
“As a corporation we have already partnered with 15 counties and 66 constituencies, to implement a total of 1,096 matching fund projects worth Sh2.8 billion,” he said.
“We are appealing to the MPs and Governors to take advantage of the Matching Fund to accelerate electrification of their priority areas.”
REREC’s CEO Rose Mkalama detailed that REREC is currently implementing 122 projects in the coastal counties of Kilifi, Kwale, Mombasa, Taita Taveta, Lamu and Tana River.
“Upon completion of these projects, over 7,287 customers including households, public utilities and commercial centres will be connected to electricity,” she noted.
The CEO further stated that in the last two years, the government has invested over Sh10 billion towards rural electrification across the country, adding that this is a testament to the government’s commitment to opening up rural areas to social and economic development.
Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation is mandated to spearhead Kenya’s renewable energy drive, in addition to implementing rural electrification projects.
REREC continues to implement projects countrywide to enhance rural electrification in Kenya, improve the livelihoods of our people and contribute to the Nation’s overall development.
These efforts, she said, align with the national economic development blueprint, Vision 2030, and the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda championed by President William Ruto