๐๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ: ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ก ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ฉ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ฅ
When the lights go out in Kenyaโs counties, itโs not always due to a technical fault, itโs often the result of a deeper, more entrenched problem: a tug-of-war between county governments and the national utility provider, Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC).
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Across the country, governors are sounding the alarm. Hospitals are plunged into darkness, water pumps grind to a halt, and street lights flicker out not from poor infrastructure, but because of unpaid electricity bills and unresolved disputes with KPLC. At the heart of the matter is a broader struggle over roles, resources, and responsibility in a devolved system of government.
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The issue stretches back to the era before devolution. Many counties inherited electricity debts from the national government. Though the expectation was that the national treasury would settle these legacy obligations, some counties are still being bill