Kwale,KENYA:Residents of Kinarini in the outskirts of Kwale town have blamed Kenya power for not acting to repair power lines that have remained hanging too low for almost a month.
According to residents the power lines are hanging over an access road to their houses due to a broken pylon.
According to one of the residents Caroline Katana, sparks fly off the lines and fall on their houses when they come into contact with each.
“Children are at a higher risk of being electrocuted as they are tempted to play with the low-hanging cables,” she added.
Ms. Katana who is intending to relocate from the area due to the problem, said the short-circuiting is to blame for frequent power outage in the area.
Residents said when Kenya Power workers arrived some few days ago, they only separated the lines and left them sagging without doing anything to fix the defective pylon.
“The workers had the audacity to tell us they were only offering a short-term solution to the problem arguably because their bosses had refused to facilitate full repairs,” added Ms. Katana.
Kenya Power area boss Mr. George Mwabusa when contacted on phone curtly said the matter will be addressed before hanging up.
Other sources in the power firm blamed frequent blackouts in the region on aging power infrastructure and the current rains.
“Some of the lines are too old and susceptible to the vagaries of weather and are partly to blame for the power interruptions,” the source said.
Businesses that depend on electricity have had to close for long hours and sometimes for days while others have turned to generators due to inconsistent power supply.
Area MCA Mr. Swaleh Simba accused Kenya Power of laxity and inefficiency saying it should improve on service delivery.
