Pre-paid water metering, The way forward??
By Ms. W. Ngugi When one opens the tap expecting clean water to come gushing out and all they get is spurts of air, the normal reaction in Kenya is ‘ oh no, not again’. To many the lack of water even for a day is unimaginable but it is a nightmare many urbanites in Kenya have learnt...
KPLC introduces dry type transformers to curb vandalism
Escalating cases of transformer vandalism have prompted Kenya Power and Lighting Company Ltd (KPLC) to replace conventional transformers in some areas with ‘dry’ ones that do not use oil. The company has already tendered for the supply of 100 dry type transformers to be installed in areas prone to vandalism such, as Kiambu, Nyeri, Thika, Dagoretti Corner, Ruiru,...
KTDA to spend Sh5 billion on hydro power
Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) plans to construct hydro power plants in the tea growing areas to cut its massive power bill and beat erratic power supply by the national grid. A report by KTDA the tea agency will construct the units along rivers in tea growing zones. KTDA manages more than 60 tea factories...
East African Community road links
The Eat African Community (EAC) with assistance from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are planning and implementing rod links between member states. Already under construction is the 243 kilometre road from Arusha through Namanga to Athi River at a cost of $200 million. The construction is being carried out by two...
New biogas plan to light up rural farmers’ homes
Rural farmers are to benefit from a new programme that seeks to empower locals to acquire biogas plants at affordable prices. Partnering with the Ministry of Energy and the Dutch Government, the Kenyan National Federation of Agricultural Producers (KENRAP) will soon be rolling out the programme in high agricultural potential regions in a four-year plan. ...
National Housing introduces new building technology
State owned National Housing Corporation has invited tender for the construction of four factories to manufacture housing panels to be used in the construction of low-cost houses. The panels will be made of insulating materials such as concrete or cement sandwiched between two wood skins. The panels will replace the standard brick and mortar construction and will reduce the...
Yeast strain boosts efficiency of biofuel production
A newly engineered strain of yeast that can simultaneously consume two types of sugar from plants to produce ethanol eliminates major inefficiencies associated with current biofuel production methods. The sugars are glucose — a six-carbon sugar that is relatively easy to ferment, and xylose — a five-carbon sugar that has been much more difficult to use in ethanol production....
Safaricom apologises to subscribers
Safaricom has apologized to its customers for hitches experienced on its network on Wednesday and reassured them of ongoing efforts to restore services. The problem was occasioned by a fibre cable cut at Museum Hill on Tuesday night, during the ongoing road construction activity around the area. "This led to an outage of both data and...
Camera monitors blood sugar via eye scans
Diabetes sufferers could one day measure their blood sugar levels using a handheld camera that analyses changes in the eye. Lein Applied Diagnostics is developing the technology to allow people to take glucose readings without drawing blood, which could also be used for eye surgery, detecting glaucoma or measuring drug dispersal. The Reading-based firm, started by two former optical...
Portable scanner lets women monitor breast health at home
A portable breast scanner that can identify tumours within a patient’s own home has been developed by researchers at Manchester University. The scanner, invented by Prof Zhipeng Wu, uses radio frequency signals that work in the same way as computer tomography to identify benign and malignant tumours. Unlike conventional mammography, which distinguishes tissue based on density, the radio frequency...
