President William Ruto has announced plans to issue every household in the country with a cooking gas cylinder in the next three years.
The move is aimed at reducing the use of wood fuel and promoting the use of clean energy.
Speaking at a thanksgiving service in Lamu, Ruto emphasized that the government would also remove gas taxation to ensure that gas prices are reduced, and had already issued Ksh25 billion to a contractor to manufacture gas as a move towards ensuring the transition to using clean energy.
“In the next three years, we will make sure that every home will have a gas cylinder issued by the government to ensure that we stop using firewood as a source of energy.
“I have already ordered that in the next budget, we will remove all the taxation on gas, to reduce the cost of gas to make it affordable for every household,” Ruto stated.
In addition to reducing the risk of health issues associated with the use of wood fuel, the president issued a warning to unscrupulous cooking gas traders in the country, who he stated endangered the lives of the public.
He also asked the Kenya Pipeline Company Limited(KPC) managers to increase capacity and enable the provision of reservoirs for cheaper LPG gas from Tanzania, during the launch of the Taifa Gas LPG terminal on February 24.
Following the president’s directive, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) announced plans to develop a framework to allow more players to invest in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) industry.
EPRA’s statement further read that the regulator would facilitate the penetration of LPG in the country by putting in place frameworks towards the adoption of an Open Tender System, which would allow competition in the LPG market and improve the quality and price of the product.
The move towards providing affordable cooking gas in the country will promote a cleaner environment, reduce the risks associated with wood fuel usage, and also help households save on energy costs.
