Germany strengthens Kenya ties with Sh14.6 billion financing to key sectors
Europe’s biggest economy Germany will channel 153 million Euros (Kes14.6 billion) to support Kenya in adopting renewable sources of energy as part of mitigating against adverse effects of climate change.
According to Germany’s Development Ministry 51 million euros (Kes6.7 billion) will be budgeted for various new energy infrastructure and hydrogen production investments, while about 30 million euros (Kes3.92 billion) will be used for training programs.
Ongoing plans to make Kenya’s agriculture more resilient to drought and cut overreliance on rain-fed agriculture will get a further 30 million euros even as 1.5 million euros is set aside for the fight against graft.
Sebastian Groth, the German ambassador to Kenya, Somalia and the Seychelles made the disclosure during a recent event, saying his country was ready to intensify her future-oriented collaboration with the East Africa’s largest economy in the focus areas which he termed the mainstays of bilateral relations between the two nations.
“The areas are the three pillars in our bilateral relations with Kenya. We have about 153 million euros that are now agreed between Germany and [the] Kenyan government,” he said during the fiftieth anniversary of the Seven Sea Lodge in Mombasa.
The financing — 76 million euros (Kes9.93 billion) of which will be in the form of loans — are part of a bilateral agreement that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Kenya’s President William Ruto struck at the UN climate conference in Egypt in November.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Prof Njuguna Ndung’u visited Berlin last week where he assented to the protocol of bilateral development cooperation on behalf of the Kenyan government.
Mr Groth was especially positive about the constructive outcome the development aid could engender in the vocational training space, seeing it as a pipeline for future skilled workers that Germany and other European countries could tap.
“Kenya has lots of very educated and ambitious people and I think there is a good chance we will open channels of immigration to Germany for skilled workers from Kenya,” he noted.
