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| US President Barack Obama (L) talks with Michael Wanyonyi, CEO and founder of Mibawa Suppliers, as he visits the Power Africa Innovation Fair, an initiative to increase the number of people with access to power in sub-Saharan Africa, on July 25, 2015 on the sidelines of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at the United Nations Compound in Nairobi. Obama arrived in the Kenyan capital Nairobi late Friday, making his first visit to the country of his father’s birth since his election as president. AFP |
US President Barack Obama defended his “Power
Africa” initiative against claims that the $7 billion plan has failed to
achieve its goal of doubling access to electricity in Africa.
“We are well on our way,” Obama said as he met five vendors in Nairobi using solar technology to further the project’s goal of creating 30,000 megawatts of “new, cleaner electricity generation capacity”.
In 2013 Obama launched the initiative to much fanfare, but reports have suggested that it has so far failed to produce any power.
Obama insisted it was just a matter of time.
“If
you wanted to start a power plant in the United States, it doesn’t take
a year to get that done,” Obama said commenting on those reports.
“What’s happening is that financing transactions have been completed, the plans are under way and the work that is being done now you are going to start seeing.”
Much of the funding for the project is expected to come from the Export-Import Bank of the United States, which has been frozen because of a political fight in Washington.
“We are well on our way,” Obama said as he met five vendors in Nairobi using solar technology to further the project’s goal of creating 30,000 megawatts of “new, cleaner electricity generation capacity”.
In 2013 Obama launched the initiative to much fanfare, but reports have suggested that it has so far failed to produce any power.
Obama insisted it was just a matter of time.
“What’s happening is that financing transactions have been completed, the plans are under way and the work that is being done now you are going to start seeing.”
Much of the funding for the project is expected to come from the Export-Import Bank of the United States, which has been frozen because of a political fight in Washington.
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