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{
    "id": 630320,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/630320/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 167,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ogalo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2679,
        "legal_name": "George Oner Ogalo",
        "slug": "george-oner-ogalo"
    },
    "content": "counties as the Constitution prescribes under the Fourth Schedule. Reticulation of power is a county government function. If this were to happen, then the rate of electrification of our counties would multiply 47 times instead of relying on one entity with its bureaucratic systems to do this job. If you look at what the REA has done in bringing power lines to rural communities and installing transformers, you will find that it is discouraging to engage the very reluctant KP to charge exorbitant fees to connect electricity. Why would KP, an entity that has found a transformer next to my home, imagine that I need to pay money for them to connect electricity to my home and thereafter pay them for using power? They are in the business of selling power. Instead of allowing me to access their power and pay for what I have used, they say I can only access the power after paying first. This is a bottleneck. This is reducing the rate of electrification in our communities. For the first time, this Bill is going to democratise issuance of power and access to power connections in this country. I support this Bill. I will bring amendments at the Committee of the whole House stage to make sure that the licences stated in Part VII, from Clause 160, namely, the licence to generate electricity, licence to generate hydro-electric power, licence to transmit electric energy, licence to be a systems operator and licence to distribute are readily availed to whoever applies for them. The wording of this law must be clear that the Authority will not withhold grant of these licences anyhow. Bureaucracy must go. From the date of the enactment of this law, democracy in power generation, distribution and transmission must begin immediately and people must be allowed to generate as much power as they want, distribute it and export it if they want. Why should Tanzania buy power from South Africa when Kenya can generate much more to supply to Tanzania? We have capacity to generate power. We must democratise generation, transmission, distribution and retail of power. Every county that has not taken advantage of the constitutional provision allowing them to reticulate power in five years is a failed county. By now, each county should have come up with its own KP. By now, they should have be distributing power to areas where KP feels people are too poor to afford the power they sell. This way, our country will grow much faster than it has done. Another player like KenGen, which is publicly and privately owned has acquired assets. Those assets were paid for by the people of Kenya. Those assets must not be withheld or be a bottleneck for those who are being licensed now, under this Act, to carry out their business. The KP has inherited a lot of power lines funded by the REA, which is also funded by the public. They must allow access to those assets for those who are now being licensed by this Act."
}