Senator Wamatinga elected as Senate Energy Committee Chairperson

Nyeri Senator Wamatinga Wahome and Nominated Senator Veronica Nduati have been elected as Senate Energy Committee Chairperson and Vice Chairperson respectively.

Senator Wamatinga said that the energy sector can either bring the cost of living high or low depending on how it is managed and that it was time that renewable energy was made affordable to all Kenyans.

He said that Power bills are high and need to be brought down and that 50 per cent of Kenyans should be able to use solar energy in their homes as a way of ensuring that cheap energy is easily available and affordable to all citizens.

“We have an obligation as the Senate Energy Committee to ensure that energy costs in the country are low we are going to work with the government and Energy sector service providers to ensure that this is achieved during our tenure since this is key in bringing the cost of living to affordable levels,” said Wamatinga.

Senator Nduati said that President Ruto had promised to address the cost of living in the country in the next few months and that the Senate Energy Committee is going to support him in ensuring that this is achieved given it is one of the key points in Kenya Kwanza Alliance Manifesto.

Narok Senator Ledama ole Kina who served in the same committee in the last Parliament said that radical measures are required to restore sanity in the energy sector and told Senator Wamatinga to prepared to face cartels who have been sabotaging efforts to bring down energy costs in the country.

“We have cases of very many electricity transformers in the country not working in what was a deliberate move by some powerful individuals in the country, we have also seen the National Oil Corporation of Kenya being sabotaged in its work this much dealt with urgently,” said Ledama.

Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana called for doing away with unnecessary regulations affecting the energy sector since reducing the cost of oil and gas in the country will bring down the cost of living which was an urgent matter of the Ruto administration.

Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga called on the committee to be nonpartisan in handling matters lamenting that the Energy sector has been a cash cow for some people in the Executive for many years which has contributed to the crisis the country is in at the moment. 

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna said that they were committed to lowering the cost of living in the country by addressing high energy costs with the cost of cooking gas, electricity and petroleum being a matter of concern to many Kenyans who are suffering since they are not doing well financially.

Turkana Senator James Lomenen said that charcoal burning should be decriminalized since a majority of Kenyans were using it as a source of fuel and those burning it was mostly using dry wood and cannot be accused of destroying the environment.

Kakamega Senator Bonny Kalwale and his Wajir Counterpart Sheikh Abass pledged to work with the committee leadership and members to ensure that the promises made to Kenyans by President Ruto in the energy sector are given the priority they deserve.  

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