Make Clean Energy available to the rural poor
The introduction of renewable energy solutions in the rural areas especially for cooking needs to be a priority in the country. The demand for biomass fuel in the rural areas is very high and is a main contributor to deforestation and environmental pollution. In Kenya and Africa in general the use of biomass fuel is mostly associated with children and women since they are the once that are associated largely with cooking which is the biggest use of energy in rural areas. Beyond the environmental impacts of the use of biomass there are other effects on the health of the users of firewood, charcoal and other biomass. There is therefore a shift to the use of cleaner sources of energy. The penetration of clean energy solutions like briquettes and solar has been very slow in Kenya and this has largely been attributed to the prices of the alternatives which are lower and readily available. What this communicates is the need for development of policy that will be aimed at promoting the use and production of renewable energy solutions for use in the rural areas especially.
Clean energy solutions continue to be the most preferred especially in the promotion of a cleaner environment. What lacks is policy that will promote the adoption of renewable energy solutions in Kenya and beyond.
Council Of Governors blames lack of laws and poor funding for the high food prices.
Agriculture is among the 14 functions that was devolved to the counties. The national governments responsibility being the development of policy while the mandate of the County governments is to implement the policies. The increase in food prices and food insecurity in the country has been caused by the lack of proper planning and coordination between the two levels of government. The two levels have a responsibility in ensuring food security. This is through the development of county specific policies geared towards the promotion of food security in the counties. The County governments are yet to develop county specific strategies aimed at responding to the effects of climate change which are clearly very different in the various counties.
Kenya is currently facing a shortage of maize which is one of the staple foods in the country. This raises questions on the National and county planning especially on the availability of food in the country. The shortage of food and the increase of food prices cannot be left to the National government alone. The county governments need to take part in the discussion and offer remedy to increase food production in the specific counties.