The need to protect critical infrastructure like electricity installations cannot be gainsaid.
Critical infrastructure protection refers to measures to protect a country’s vital assets.
The United Nations Security Council Resolution 2341 in February 2017 on the protection of critical infrastructure and prevention of attacks highlighted the significance of this at a global level.
Kenyans endured a third countrywide power blackout in four years on January 11, 2022, which resulted in financial losses running into millions of shillings after disrupting businesses, households and manufacturers.
The four-hour outage was due to the collapse of a high-voltage power line linking Nairobi to the Kiambere hydroelectric dam. There were allegations of possible vandalism of the critical installation based in Imara Daima, Nairobi.
The need to protect critical infrastructure like electricity installations cannot be gainsaid. This is a priority as it goes to the core of the economy. In 2015, the government buoyed by the Presidential Round Table III of December 5, 2014, initiated efforts to enact a law to support the protection of critical infrastructure in Kenya — the Critical Infrastructure Bill).
Critical infrastructure protection refers to measures to protect a country’s vital assets.
The United Nations Security Council Resolution 2341 in February 2017 on the protection of critical infrastructure and prevention of attacks highlighted the significance of this at a global level.
It is estimated that Kenya loses a conservative Sh3 billion annually due to damage and degradation of vital infrastructure, excluding indirect economic losses arising from the disruption of businesses and essential government services.
Critical infrastructure costs an arm and a leg.
Critical infrastructure or assets means designated physical and virtual assets or facilities, whether owned by private or public entities which are designated as such under the proposed Bill.
The Bill is yet to be passed into law despite its importance.
The principal object of the Bill is to provide a framework for the establishment of the Critical Infrastructure Unit, to protect vital installations, coordinate and strengthen existing government ministries and State departments and agencies.
The Bill is borne of the fact that critical infrastructure assets are essential to the provision of vital services to Kenyans for their social and economic wellbeing, and which if destroyed, degraded or rendered unavailable, would impact on the social or economic wellbeing of the nation or affect Kenya’s ability to conduct national defence and security.
The current happenings and vandalism on critical infrastructure, including but not limited to power lines, substations, off-grid generation stations, repeater stations, data centres, roads and related infrastructure, information, communications and technology sector installations, security facilities and oil pipeline infrastructure call for scaling up of efforts and goodwill towards passing the pending Bill into law.
Effectively securing the country’s critical infrastructure will move us toward the national development goals espoused in the Big Four agenda and the Vision 2030 roadmap to transforming Kenya into a middle-income, industrial economy.
It would also support sustainable development, more so, the realisation of international Sustainable Development Goal No. 9 on building resilient infrastructure.
