Many house holds which relied on cheap gas are expected to dig deep into their pockets or use other means in cooking since the Mwananchi Cooking Gas project has been suspended until further notice after distribution of faulty gas cylinders
Judge Wilfrida Okwany ruled that the project by President Uhuru Kenyatta were households w received 6kg cooking gas cylinders and burners at a discounted price of Sh2,000 has ben temporarily stopped until a petition filed by Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek) was heard.
“An order for injunction be issued against the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th respondents from releasing any gas cylinders to the public pending the hearing and determination of the petition,” stated Okwany.
According to the National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK), substandard Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) was distributed by criminal contractors.
Analysis of the report further showed that 67,251 out of 353,000 cylinders supplied by four local firms were rejected after it was discovered they had faulty valves that were a danger to the users.
The findings of the report caught the attention of the DCI who launched investigations into the matter.
NOCK pointed out that the tender awarded for the project was worth Ksh 700 million.
Records by the State oil marketer disclosed that a local firm named Allied East Africa limited supplied a total of 148,750 cylinders where 47,534 were rejected for being defective.
Surge Energy supplied 104,125 cylinders where 11,823 considered faulty.
Accurate Power Systems provided 44,625 with 7,894 termed defective.
The Petroleum and Mining ministry, through Nock, was tasked by President Uhuru Kenyatta to roll out the “Mwananchi Gas Project” in mid-2016.
Nock later launched the “Project Mwananchi” campaign where it disclosed plans to make 4.3 million cooking gas cylinders available Kenyan households in three years.
Under the project, the 6kg complete cylinders (gas, burner and grill), trading under the brand name “Gas Yetu”, were to be distributed at the discounted price of Sh2,000 to households that would otherwise not afford them.
Besides the discounted price, Nock was also to develop a robust distribution model to enable Kenyans access LPG at the nearest shopping centre through licensed distributors and retailers.
The programme would enhance LPG penetration from approximately 10 per cent currently to 70 per cent within three years.
Gas has become the preferred energy source for households that can afford it in major towns, due to its convenience and because it is cleaner than other cooking fuels. To obtain the discounted cylinders eligible households were expected to present themselves with their national ID cards to area chiefs for registration.
Refills would be available at appointed Gas Yetu retailers within their locality at a cost of Sh840 per cylinder, Nock had said.
“It would reduce respiratory diseases and mortality rates associated with household air pollution as a result of sustained use of firewood and charcoal (and) uplift the quality of life for the majority of Kenyan citizens by making clean cooking fuel (LPG) readily available,” the State oil marketer says on its website.
It was also aimed at reducing deforestation as beneficiaries would move away from the use of biomass (charcoal and firewood).