Clean fuel: State to hand out free gas cylinders to poor households

Official data shows that about 70 per cent of the population relies on biomass and other dirty fuels such as kerosene as the primary cooking fuel. Biomass is, however, said to burn inefficiently and emit toxic pollutants, contributing to most upper respiratory tract infections, hence the need to urgently wean people off the use of such fuels.

It is approximated that about 14,300 Kenyans die annually due to complications associated with indoor pollution. The transition from the use of biomass and kerosene to LPG, which is cleaner, will help in the reduction of premature deaths associated with indoor pollution. Increased uptake of LPG is also expected to result in increased tree and forest cover, thus reducing the impact of climate change.

To ensure that the gas becomes affordable and readily available, the government proposes common importation of LPG through government-to-government arrangements or through OTS. The Cabinet observed that the lack of a common user LPG import facility in Mombasa and in the hinterland under the control of the government has hampered the implementation of a common import mechanism, such as the OTS.

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