Kenya has adopted a national plan for the development of electric mobility to tackle pollution in the country.
The plan will enable the development of a “clean and green transport system” through the set up of a charter for automotive companies, the training of drivers to respect the environment, as well as the support of the governments of the 47 counties in the sustainable management of road traffic.
Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Kipchumba Murkomen, said, “The government has prioritized the adoption of e-mobility in the country to strengthen the fight against global warming. It is against this agenda that the government is dedicated to encouraging public service vehicles, and commercial transporters to convert to electric vehicles,”.
This new plan will stabilise further, other legal measures already in place. These include the Climate Change Act of 2016 and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) supported Energy Act of 2019. The document will facilitate the decline of air pollution in major cities, including the capital Nairobi where several energy firms have set up their factories since 2017.
This is the case of the Swedish-Kenyan BasiGo led by engineer Jit Bhattacharya. The start-up has been working with Associated Vehicle Assemblers (AVA) since 2023 to assemble 1,000 33-seat electric vehicles per unit by 2026. The partnership, which is focused on reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, will also create at least 300 green jobs in manufacturing, charging, and vehicle maintenance.
