Why Energy Committee is furious with Wandayi, Mbadi
National
By
Irene Githinji
| Apr 22, 2026
The National Assembly Committee on Energy has now raised concerns over several instances of Cabinet Secretaries failing to appear before them as required, to respond to matters of public concern.
The Energy Committee, led by Nakuru Town East MP, David Gikaria, called for better coordination between the Executive and Parliament to allow proper scheduling whenever Cabinet Secretaries are required to appear before them.
Yesterday, Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi and his National Treasury counterpart, John Mbadi, were expected to appear before the committee regarding delays in the implementation of the Kenya Power last-mile connectivity projects, but sent their apologies and called for rescheduling since they were not immediately available for the meeting.
According to Gikaria, the committees’ secretariat should be checking with liaisons before the MPs invite a CS to ascertain their availability to respond to critical issues of concern to the public.
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“The Energy Cabinet Secretary was supposed to be here but I saw him in some meetings and now a letter has been sent to me signed by Energy Principal Secretary, Alex Wachira, indicating that the CS, together with other senior officials, will be out of the country on official business, as part of the presidential delegation,” said Gikaria.
The MPs remarked as they complained over the status of the last-mile connectivity, which the Government has been promising for quite some time but failed to deliver as expected, saying it may cost some legislators their seats.
Insisting that the last mile connectivity is important and although they are told that the country is at 70 per cent coverage, some places are still lagging, hence the need to address the imbalances and said the Ministry must explain to them.
“We need to understand why connectivity varies and take affirmative action. Many think that urban areas are all connected, but it may not always be the case. For us to have solid progress on this, the PS must come and also, the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) are involved in the last mile,” Ruiru MP, Simon King’ara said.
Awendo MP, Walter Owino, said that the last mile was launched a long time ago and is long overdue. In some places, they have yet to see any outcome.
“The President has been talking about last connectivity when he visits several areas, he says money has been allocated and I’m not sure whether he is aware of the status of some of these things. Where exactly is that problem? And is there any intervention that may be required from us? Otherwise, this thing is going to mess up the election of so many other people,” Owino said.
He said they have been promising the public that the project would be implemented but to date, nothing has really happened and it is important to know what is happening to the projects, including donor-funded ones, and also the interventions.
Nambale Mp, Geoffrey Mulanya, also regretted the delay in the last mile project, saying they were promised power in 2023, but nothing has happened up to now.
“Busia has one contractor. Let us take this matter seriously, especially now that we are nearing the electioneering period. We need to execute this business as a matter of urgency,” he insisted.
Gikaria agreed there is a need to fully implement projects and the appearance of CS is critical to respond to emerging issues on connectivity, saying money has been provided in the last three years, but still, consumers do not have power and the committee cannot continue like that.