Browsing: Electricity and Water Supply sector

• Activation of Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant (JNHPP) turbines increase output.
• Authorities say a national renovation of power infrastructure is underway.
• Minor outages persist in several regions due to ongoing maintenance.

Tanzania electricity supply has seen a significant increase, with the country now enjoying surplus power output as the current generation capacity reaches 2,152 megawatts (MW), well above the total demand of 1,683MW. This increase in capacity is attributed to the activation of three turbines at the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant (JNHPP). That plant alone is projected to produce some 2,115 MW when fully operational.

This remarkable turnaround comes less than a year after Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu dissolved the entire Tanesco board following persistent blackouts caused by low water levels in dams due to drought and delays in power plant maintenance.

Speaking to the press in the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s Deputy Prime Minister Dr. …

• Kenya’s trade deficit rises amidst government push to grow exports 
• The widening trade deficit indicates that the country’s capacity to create jobs locally and support its currency has dropped.
• Similarly, transportation and storage sectors slowed to 3.8 per cent in comparison to 6.6 per cent during the review period.

An increase in the value of imports into Kenya has widened the country’s trade deficit with its partners by Sh20 billion in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same time last year, data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows

This saw the balance of payments widen from Sh110.5 billion in the first quarter of 2023 to Sh131.2 billion in the first quarter of 2024.

The statistics agency attributed this to increased expenditure on leading import commodities of petroleum and industrial machinery, particularly air transport equipment.

The favourable export earnings from tea and horticultural commodities that resulted …