President William Ruto and his deputy rigathi gachagua have launched the construction of the Taifa Gas LPG terminal in Mombasa.

The terminal is owned by Tanzanian business magnate Rostam Aziz and will have a capacity of 30,000 tons of LPG. Taifa Gas, Tanzania's largest LPG supplier, has been supplying the Kenyan retail market by road.

PHOTO | COURTESY President Ruto 

According to Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) data, Kenya imported 240,000 tons of LPG in 2022, up from 180,000 tons in 2021. As more homes switch from charcoal and kerosene to gas, LPG demand has steadily increased.

In his speech during the launch of the gas, deputy gachagua said that it was time for the people of the coast to cook with dignity

"Huu mradi wa Taifa Gas ni hatua kubwa kupatia mwananchi heshima. Wapwani zaidi ya 70% wanatumia kuni kupika chakula ambayo inaleta moshi na matatizo ya kiafya .Tunataka kila boma na kila mama awe na mtungi wa gesi na kuishi kwa heshima" deputy Gachagua

the deputy president went on to rebuke the azimio la Umoja coalition leader for his protests.

 "Kuna wale walikuwa wanapiga kelele pale Jeevanjee gardens, ‘hatutambui rais’…kama hamumtambui, mtamwambia aje aweke nani? Rais William Ruto ataweka watu ambao wanamtambua na wanaelewa mpango wake wa 'bottom-up'"

"Maandamano ambayo Raila Odinga anafanya inamletea hasara kubwa sana. Alikuwa na kazi kubwa ya African Union Infrastructure lakini akafukuzwa kwasababu aliacha kazi akaenda maandamano." he added

"Tunasema hatutauziwa uoga. Walikuwa kwa debe wakawekwa chini, walikuwa na ‘deep state’ akawaweka chini sasa hawana chochote, watawezana na huyu rais? Sahii ni wakati wa kufanya kazi, wawache rais afanyie Wakenya kazi. Wangoje miake nne na nusu tupatane kwa debe"

President Ruto in his speech said that The launch of Taifa Gas is a historic milestone on our journey towards achieving self-sufficiency in clean green energy which is a critical component of our commitment to deliver rapid social-economic transformation.