I have been battling about writing this piece for a long time, majorly because I do not think I can do it the justice it deserves. I have many memories from childhood and some are a bit fuzzy but not for this particular incidence. I can still see myself sitting on my favorite seat watching the international weekly news roundup. I remember watching as dozens of people migrated from their homes in search of safety and thousands were reported dead. To be honest I felt far removed from these events and I didn’t pay it much attention until recently. Since moving to Algeria I have come to meet people who know the horrors of the 1994 Rwanda genocide. They have shared the stories of the survivors and those who were not so lucky to escape and in more times than one I have begged them to stop because it made me sick to my stomach. I have often wondered what the survivors would think of me and my cowardly reaction. I hide from hearing the truth while they lived it for 100 days with no escape. They begged them to stop but no one listened, not even the international community that turned a deaf ear to their plea for help.   Approximately 1,000,000 men, women and children were killed and estimated 150,000-250,000 women were raped between the months of 7th April to 4th July 1994 in what is commonly referred to as 100 days of slaughter. It must have felt like a life time hoping that help would eventually come and realizing the world did not consider them a priority and they would have to wait a little longer for salvation to come. I wonder how many died hoping the next day would be better or help would arrive, how many felt the pain of betrayal and abandonment as their flicker of faith in humanity died. It was a period where the name on your identity card could mean the difference between life and death. The target of the attacks was the Tutsi minority as well as any political opponents irrespective of their ethnic background. Families and neighbors turned against each other and the whole country was bleeding. I wonder what would have driven fellow countrymen to such hatred. The root cause has been speculated to be political incitement out of the economic and social inequalities in Rwanda during that time but questions still remain. It is hard to comprehend and 22 years later we may never really get the answers and the closure the victims seek.   Rwanda maybe a unique case in terms of magnitude but the political incitement and ethnic cleansing rituals is not. It is common place for African leaders to divide their countries in ethnic lines in a bid to stay in office or win elective seats. Kenya for example experienced post election violence in 2007 where the presidential elections were heavily disputed. As a result neighbors turned against each other and over 1000 people lost their lives ,thousands were displaced from their homes and property worth millions destroyed. We are now preparing for the 2017 elections and the atmosphere in the country is politically charged and sadly politicians continue to incite the public based on ethnic affiliations with no consequence at all. The tale is the same across the continent on politically incited crashes like in Angola, Central Republic, South Sudan, and Burundi among many others.   How I wish we could all learn from the blood bath in Rwanda 22 years ago. Rwanda has risen from the ashes to become one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. I like to give my best friend grief over their loyalty to President Paul Kagame but who can blame them really. He is the man who has guided his country to reconciliation and healing and steered the economy on the right direction. To many Rwandeses he is popularly known as a leader who holds those within government accountable for their actions and demands performance in service delivery. He may be a man of many faults like his critics have said but let’s give credit where it is due.   I do not understand politics; it is a dirty game after all. I will never understand how the loss of lives is brushed off as collateral damage so a few people can remain in power or take over the political class. It is like to become a politician you have to trade your conscious for an ice cold heart than has no respect for human lives. We like to blame the west for all our troubles but if we are to apportion blame we deserve the heaviest load on our shoulders. We sit on the sidelines as the politicians squander public funds and resources and invest them in the west. We cheer them when they attack other ethnic groups in a bid to consolidate power and when they are put on trial for crimes against humanity we buy their lies that democracy is under trial. No wonder the west continues to poke their noses in our business since we can’t seem to get our house in order. I wonder when we will decide enough is enough hopefully heavens forbid not after we experience the horrors of Rwanda. ************************************************************************************************************************************************ I asked some of my friends from Rwanda what they wished Africa could learn from the genocide and here is what they had to say; Umulisa Diana: Africa has to realize we are the authors of our own destiny. The west does not create problems for us we do that all by ourselves. We fight against each other and kill but at the end of the day when all the dust settles we are faced by the reality that no one has the solutions we so desperately seek apart from ourselves. We are all we need to rebuild this continent. Pascal Kwisanga: I am Pascal KWISANGA from Rwanda. I was born  in Rwanda and I had been in  Rwanda before the genocide, during the genocide and after the genocide. I was 5 years old when the genocide happened in        Rwanda, I saw a lot of things      and learnt from what   happened and  what is happening in Rwanda. Africaand the            rest ofthe world should learn from what happened        in Rwanda in 1994. Genocide has taken         the life  of a million victims of         Rwandans and other  friends and more thana million became orphans, widowers  and widows. I  know what it means to lose your beloved parents and relatives; it is painful more than you think. Having tribes or clans is not a problem in a society but the way they can be used and be manipulated to the point you can exterminate human-being because of       the actual regime's mindset, this is not humanity. It    is better to help your country as          citizen  not as         regionalism ortribalism to make your country be developed in different        ways.  We don't need  to be used by        the politicians  or actual governments to satisfy their  needs   to destroy our  relationship and friendship but we need to act as a           nation and build our    country together. Hope, unity  and forgiveness are the key weapons  to strengthen our nations.                                                                                                            ENOUGH SAID                  

Recently I came across a report by PWC on the future of Africa with regard to the development of the real estate markets. The report, released in March 2015, predicts the developments in the real estate industry up to 2020. It is undeniably true that Africa has been lagging behind in terms of developing its real estate market. However, the projections given by the report are enticing in terms of the opportunities that exist for those that look into venturing into real estate business. For those already in the business, just know that “impact of global megatrends on Africa will be huge”. I couldn’t stress it more thanks to that phrase I got in the first page of the PWC report. The rapid urbanization that will be witnessed throughout the continent is critical, not only to the traditional investors in the real estate market, but also new entrants such as energy and water experts. It is becoming increasingly important to incorporate such experts as issues of climate change is pushing the market towards green building. As illustrated by the PwC analysis, the growth in the real estate is projected at 3.7% annually for the entire African continent between 2012 and 2020. In addition, the report states that cities globally contribute about 70% of “energy-related greenhouse gases while occupying just 2% of the land”. This shows the significance of incorporating technology in the real estate economics. The predictions also show that the inclusion of technology will eventually disrupt the entire sector changing the approach towards real state development. Take a closer look at some of the cities and the projected growth. Source: PwC report- Real estate: Building the future of Africa Any expert in the fields of energy and water will marvel at the prospects. The need for green building in terms of energy and water usage will surge with technology taking center stage. Do not forget that Africa still struggles in terms of electricity and water access. In order to play a leading role in the development, it is essential to find how to fit into the bigger picture by expanding our horizon. For instance, we can find out what is already happening in our individual countries or regions. The PwC reports projects that most investors will seek local partnership as necessitated by government policies and legislation. We should be part of the drivers for real estate growth in Africa through collaboration with government and other investors.

The event started with introductory speeches from the different dignitaries including the PAUWES director, Professor Abdelatif Zerga. The main points that were mentioned in the speeches included energy issues in Africa, how researchers can establish strong links with the private sector and sustainability of energy projects through capacity building. It was an intriguing session, as speakers went on to give their unbiased views about energy issues in Africa pointing out their experiences in the different African countries. It got more interesting when the representatives from the private sector started challenging researchers. They were alleging that researchers do a lot of research that never materialize yet the private sector is interested in lucrative opportunities. “Private companies are not donor agencies” said Ms. Kagina after researchers were talking about insufficient and hard to get funding from the Private sector. She stressed further that, researchers focus a lot on paper publishing other than money making. "What’s research without publishing papers?”, asked one researcher. The discussion continued along the line of finding a holistic and common ground where research not only enriches knowledge of researchers but also directly impact on people’s lives on ground. In this way, the funding can be easy to win.Session 2 This session was fully packed with educative presentations from the different researchers that had attended the symposium. Among the presentations was one for a sizing analysis of a Linear Fresnel Solar. A Linear Fresnel solar is a solar technology that involves the use of mirrors (reflectors) known as Fresnel to focus the irradiations from the sun onto a fixed absorber located at a common focal point of the reflectors. These mirrors are capable of concentrating the sun’s energy to approximately 30 times its normal intensity. In the presentation, the researcher stated that four locations were considered namely; Hassi R'mel, Tamanrasset, Beni-Abbes, and El Oued, all in Algeria. It was found out that performance calculations hence sizing, varies from site to site with the Direct Normal Radiation (DNI). The presentation that followed was about thermodynamic modelling of thermal energy storage systems. In this, a methodology for comparing thermal energy storage technologies to electrochemical, chemical and mechanical energy storage technologies was presented. “The underlying physics of this model is hinged on the development of a round trip efficiency formulation for these systems”, stated the researcher. He added, “The charging and discharging processes of compressed air energy storage, flywheel energy storage, fuel cells, and batteries are well understood and defined from a physics standpoint in the context of comparing these systems. However, the challenge lays in comparing the charging process of these systems with the charging process of thermal energy storage systems for concentrating solar power plants (CSP).” The rationale behind the presenter’s analysis was to develop an electrical storage efficiency for molten salt thermal energy storage systems, such that it can be compared to battery energy storage technologies in the context of comparing CSP with thermal energy storage to solar photovoltaic with battery storage from a utility scale perspective. The results from the modelling using Andasol 3 CSP plant as a case study yielded a storage efficiency of 86% and LCOE of $216/ MWh. With these findings he anticipated that a thermal energy storage roadmap for the future generation will be facilitated. The 3rd presentation was about analyzing the best algorithm for a Heliostat Field Layout. A heliostat is a device that includes a mirror, usually a plane mirror, which turns so as to keep reflecting sunlight toward a predetermined target thereby compensating the sun’s apparent motions in the sky. The presenter showed the different state of art Heliostat field layout arrangements and the amount of radiation they can capture. The experiment was carried out using a simulation software. The results of the simulation indicated that all the analyzed layout generation algorithms give approximately similar solar field efficiencies when compared for the considered scenarios once they are optimized. More events followed on the different days, a series of highlights will be posted under this heading. @Editorial_team

Sitting behind my broken laptop, pressing the back space key on the key board………… I trust you know what it does. I paused for a moment and imagined, if only everything could be transformed to be as easy as pressing the back space key to erase something and then replace with what you want, life would be the best thing ever - I mean it is still the best thing but it would be more than that. More time would be saved, more money would be made, more networks would be created and most importantly better innovations would be exhibited by man in problem solving. Just imagine what you can do with an extra hour a day! The world today blames politics for most of the things that are going wrong and a lot of hopes are put in politicians to still come up with solutions. News flash! It is not going to happen. Politics will probably help to solve some of the problems but you know what it will not do, it will not call a taxicab for you but UBER will, politics will not connect you to 5000 friends but Facebook will, it will not help you build your professional network but amazingly LinkedIn will. I can go on and on to tell you apps that have changed the world in some way but that’s not the point. The point is, politics will not solve the world problems but rather a bunch of serious smart guys who will sit down to reimagine the solutions to the problems you and I face, in a technological way, will solve the world problems. Do these guys have to come from Mars? Of course not! (I remember growing up in my beautiful country, they used to tell us stories about green people – did they ever exist?). The people who will sit down to reimagine technological solutions to the problems we face today are “You and I”. Just a couple of steps and we will be good to go. Identify a problem, suggest a solution, brainstorm about it, set goals and things will start moving. It’s not easy is what we all say but hey, nothing is easy, wait when you are suffering from constipation – you will know that even giving a little shit is not easy sometimes. Looking at all the people we call the greatest in the field of technology, I don’t know what you think of them but I will tell you what I think, they are humans like you and I. They make mistakes like us and also have fears like we do. What makes them special is, they took the first step which you can do now, or as they say in French, “maintenant”. Zuckerberg founded Facebook from his dorm room, you can start up something from your hostel too! Bill Gates left school to go solve problems through his technological innovations. Remember, he did not just leave school but HARVARD.My friend, are you going to sit back and wait for politics to solve the world problems? Or like Bolt, you are going to wait for the start sign to get started? We must not sit and become spectators of events of our time, we must become the events our time. Let’s drive Africa towards the world of technology, let’s drive the world.    

I was thrilled after reading the International Renewable Energy Agency report on solar PV and its potential for full-scale investment in Africa. The report, published September 2016, indicated that rapid declining cost of the technology is likely to trigger a boom in the installation of solar PV in most parts of Africa. The report highlighted that the price of solar PV module had gone down to between USD 0.52 and USD 0.72/watt in 2015. Isn’t that good news? Not only the price of PV but the balance of system costs has also rapidly declined by a whopping 62% since 2009.  This has brought total installation costs to as low as USD 1.30/watt. The cost is projected to drop by another 52% by 2025. There are some promising projections on the Continent’s capability to invest in solar. IRENA predicts possibility of having a solar PV generation capacity of 70 GW by 2030. In addition, Africa receives more solar irradiation than some countries that have heavily invested in solar. For example, solar irradiation in Africa is 52% to 117% more than Germany although the country had an installed capacity of more than 40 GW by 2015 as indicated in the IRENA Renewables 2016 Global Status Report. The question now remains how we can turn the idea into reality. IRENA has indicated that a conducive environment with the right policies can lead to the achievement of the objective in the shortest time possible. This shows that the main emphasis is no longer about the cost, but about allowing the development to take place. Solar PV is unique as it has the potential to reach rural communities that are yet to be connected to the grid. Already, a number of countries have started initiatives aimed at improving energy access through solar. For instance, M-Kopa is a Kenyan initiative run by a private company that provides solar solutions through Pay-As-You-Go technology and services. Other private companies such as D.Light are also warming up to countries that have adequate regulations. It is also essential for young entrepreneurs throughout the African continent to warm up to the opportunity and create jobs as they push away energy poverty.   I urge you to consider the independence of being able to produce your own clean energy that minimizes or totally eliminates dependence on the grid.  I believe it is time to embrace solar energy for grid, off-grid, mini-grid, and hybrid electrification solutions. Cover photo: Courtesy Rwanda Solar Project 8.5 MW east of the capital Kigali

Human beings have a tendency of misusing resources when they are available in abundance but is it a culture? Have you ever had something and you ended up misusing it just because you knew you had it in plenty? Let me go deeper and ask, have you ever mistreated someone just because you thought they would never leave? It is unfortunately human nature to do so. Just look around and see the way people utilize resources. Look at how some leader’s abuse funds to how some companies mistreat interns/entry level employees by overworking while underpaying them. Let’s hit close to home and look at our daily habits. Every human has that one habit of misusing something just because they have it in abundance, be it adding an extra tea spoon of sugar just because you can afford to buy another packet, impulse buying accessories just because you can afford them or leaving the water tap running while you brush your teeth. Is it beginning to make sense and have you ever wondered why? Well for the better part of my youth, I didn’t bother to ask myself why. Resources were willingly and readily provided by my parents, whom I really appreciate and respect for doing so. This attitude however changed when I cleared my high school. In my culture, once you went through your rights of passage, you were expected to fend for yourself. Luckily shelter and food were provided but other expenses, such as leisure activities, be it going out with my palls to buying airtime, I had to sort myself. This meant that the little I made from my small hustle had to be utilized efficiently because I didn’t know when I would get my next pay. Being young, all out to have fun and fact that I was born and raised in the city of Nairobi, Kenya where without money one cannot “survive” meant that I had to come up with innovative ways to make money. It became a case of necessity being the mother of all invention. Fast forward to university and post university: I consider myself blessed to have done my industrial attachments, internships and gained some work experience as an engineer in multinational FCMG industries where I saw the impact of efficiency first hand on a personal, company and economic level. On a personal level, efficiency was important in terms of proper time management. On a company level, I happen to have been involved in some projects that improved on both energy and systems efficiency, subsequently seeing the company’s operation costs reduce by a significant percentage resulting to higher profit margins. On an economic level, well, it is obvious to state that the higher the profit margin, the higher the plough back which led to increased employment opportunities due to the expansion of the industry and higher direct tax paid to the government. So this brings me to the question, could our poor emphasis on efficient use of resources be one of the many reasons why Africa is still lagging behind in terms of clean energy access? I believe that this is definitely one of the reasons. Look at it from this point of view – Kenya, my homeland, has a Vision 2022 to increase electricity generation to over 5,000MW mostly from renewables. So as to achieve this target, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum comes up with a budget annually. In this budget we find allocations in expanding both the electricity generation and distribution infrastructure. Well that’s awesome because it is evident that there is a strong correlation between clean energy access i.e. electricity and better quality of life. But here is the issue - currently, it is approximated that the loss of energy through waste and inefficiency ranges between 10%-30% of primary energy input across all the sectors in the country. If we consider that there is currently a total installed capacity of 2,295 MW, it would mean that 230MW-690MW is lost due to inefficiency across the distribution and utilization system. This is sad because if Kenya was more energy efficient, we would save on the capital intensive electricity generation infrastructure required to generate a similar capacity and divert the capital to more wanting sectors like the health sector. It will be even sadder if Kenya continues with this inefficiency trend while working towards the 5000MW target. Just to add insult to injury, according to the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, Kenya’s industrial sector has an energy saving potential of US$ 20 Million annually. This means that the US$ 20M is literally going down the drain. I’m sure if Kenya were to attain proper efficiencies, such kind of money could be enough to set up a new processing industry every year and create thousands of jobs directly and indirectly. So how can we promote this culture of using energy efficiently so as to improve on sustainability? Well, there are many ways to tackle this bad habit of inefficiency. One can take a zoomed out system approach and figure out why this inefficiency culture exists. For my argument, I choose to take a human use (demand side management) approach because I believe that in any system, a change in human behavior is the basic foundation for any logical change. In other words, if I may use computer science terms, humans are the ones who control whether it will be ‘Garbage In, Garbage Out’ or ‘Gold In, Gold Out’. Step one is change from within. There is a saying I once read that if you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. Well look at energy efficiency as an opportunity to conserve the scarce resource so that one more person can have the opportunity to be connected to the National Grid. If you are more money minded like I am, take this as an opportunity to reduce on your utilities bills. Second step is to pass this habit of efficiency to the people around you by being an efficiency ambassador. You can throw in a few sensitization posters and meetings but the most effective way that has been proven to work, is through action. Actions speak louder than words. Through simple actions such as shutting off a dripping tap, switching off a light on a well-lit day while in the company of people or even offering to car pool to and from work with colleagues, you will make them realize that they are wasteful and that it’s their personal responsibility to ensure that resources are used efficiently. Sooner or later, through such continuous efforts the habit of conservation and efficiency will rub off on them. Third step is to incorporate energy efficiency technologies in your day to day operations. This is a way of handling the old dogs who cannot be taught new tricks. There are those around you who will, either willingly or unwillingly, not take up this energy efficiency habit. One will therefore have to find a way to conserve and efficiently use the energy either way. Approaches that can be used for such cases include installation of LED lighting, use of photocell sensors to turn on lights only when it is dark, motion and occupancy sensors to put on lights only when someone is in the room and push taps to dispense water for a specified time interval. If you are in a work place setting, encourage the management to adapt the building to be more energy efficient by taking advantage of natural resources for ventilation and lighting, solar lighting and heating. In an industrial setting, encourage the use of more efficient boilers, premium efficiency motors, and use of common means of transportation i.e. Staff bus instead of personal cars. This will definitely involve some high initial costs but the payback will be worth it due to savings made. Consequent steps will involve continuous improvement. Just like my secondary school teacher once told me, always ensure you are better than your previous assignment. Make sure you don’t give up and keep pushing to ensure energy efficiency around you is realized. As the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Be bold enough to make the world a better place by embracing efficiency as a first step in ensuring sustainable living.

If I was a New York Times blogger or Washington Post (I am allowed to dream) I think my editor would have had my head by now. I have a habit of writing my blogs at the last minute because funny enough that is when inspiration seems to strike me or that is when I can no longer stew on a topic and I have to write it down. You may ask why I continue to write if the pressure to deliver is so high but writing my weekly entries has taught me how to honor commitment and frankly I enjoy penning my thoughts down but I digress. A few days ago we were enjoying a few drinks with some of our colleagues and we discussed a lot of issues and cultural food was one of them. I came to realize that Cameroon and specifically the Bamileke have very diverse dishes to choose from, be it from the meat, vegetables and the roots. To be honest I was a bit jealous because my tribe (Kikuyu) is known for many things but diversity in their cuisine is not one of them.   Our discussion got me thinking about the food crisis that continues to face our world. According to the World Food Program 795-216 million people are undernourished and do not get enough food to lead a healthy and active life. Hunger and malnutrition are in fact the number one risk to human health worldwide — greater than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. The report goes on to list the main causes of hunger as conflict, natural disasters, poverty and poor agricultural practices and over exploitation of resources.  Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest prevalence of undernourishment in the world at 23.3% or almost one in every four people.   In Kenya an estimated 1.6 million people are considered food insecure with global rates of acute malnutrition is between 24-37% which is beyond the 15% emergency threshold provided by the World Health Organization. I cannot count how many times Kenyan citizens have come together under the umbrella of Red Cross to mobilize funds to feed the hungry in the Northern part of the country which is majorly an arid and semi-arid zone. Sadly, this has only served as a short term relief measure and a long term solution is yet to be fully implemented. Hence, in every few years the country is caught off guard and we end up losing lives and sources of income especially for the pastoralist communities.    On the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), goal number two is to end hunger which is closely tied to goal number one which is to end poverty. The target is to ensure access by all people to safe nutritious food all year round by 2030. Governments hope to achieve this by doubling the agricultural productivity, ensuring secure and equal access to land, implementing resilient agricultural practices that will increase productivity and production and maintaining genetic diversity of seeds, plants, domestic animals among others like political reforms.    I think it is a shame that with all the advancements humans have made in the 21st Century feeding themselves sufficiently remains a big challenge. What I think should be on this list as well are communities adopting new food sources that are not traditionally considered as culturally acceptable. It is sad to have people die out of hunger when food surrounds them only because the said food is not acceptable in their culture. If we are to beat world hunger and especially in Africa we will have to think outside the box. We need to start considering other sources of food even as we implement other actions. Bugs like crickets, termites, beetles, and caterpillars are sources of food in parts of Central and West Africa and we could look into investing in breeding them and supplying our markets. I do not know how many of us me included would consider frogs, snakes or bats as delicacies without gagging but the truth of the matter is there are people who have been eating them for years and they are well and breathing so we shouldn’t be any different. The vision we have for 2030 does not have to seem like an unreachable goal but we can slowly work towards achieving it through gradual lifestyle and social changes.  

Kenya is situated in Eastern Africa and lies across the equator. Most of Kenya’s water originates from the five water towers namely Mount Kenya, Mau forest, Aberdare ranges, Mount Elgon and Cherengani hills (NEMA, 2010). Kenya also shares a number of rivers and lakes with other countries for example Lake Victoria and Ewaso Ng’iro which is part of the larger Shebelle-Juba basin. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization 2014, the country’s total renewable water resources are 30.7km3 with water scarcity index of 674.043 m3 per capita significantly below the 1,000 m3 per capita marker for water scarcity. This means that Kenya is a water scarce country.Kenya, like any developing country faces water challenges which hinder the provision water and sanitation to its people. These challenges are both current and future as discussed;   Rapid population growth: Kenya’s population has doubled over the last 25 years and according to United Nations projections it is expected to grow by one million per year over the next 40 years and reach about 85 Million in 2050. The current water scarcity per capita is at 674.043 m3 per year and is likely to drop to 359 m3 per year by 2020 as a result of population growth. This not only presents a challenge in access to water but also a blink outlook in the future. With the rapid increase in the population more pressure is put on the finite resource. This means there is and will be more mounting demand on water for domestic use, industrial and agricultural purposes. This threatens the present and future county’s ability to meet the fundamental water needs of the people, water for economic development and environmental protection.   Ineffective water resources management: According to the Government of Kenya’s National development Report 2006, Kenya’s water resources have been mismanaged through unsustainable water and land use policies, laws and institutions, rapid population growth and increased degradation of rivers, lakes and wetlands and their catchments. The government budget allocation to water development and management has been affected since over 51% of the budget is allocated to recurring costs and expenditure. There have therefore been insufficient funds to allocate water, police illegal water extractions and obstructions and monitor water pollution. This is both a current and future problem unless the budget allocation trend is changed.   There are also gender disparities between men and women in water resource management in Kenya. Women are responsible for multiple uses of water resources and principle decision makers regarding its domestic and sanitation uses and yet more often than not men control this resource and make major decisions related to its allocation and type of facilities available (Wambu Charles.K, 2015). Women are not fully involved in formulation of water policies, public discussions and in community and national water committees. For example interventions such as irrigations fail to consider the gender dynamics in land ownership rights, labour force and income. High level of women illiteracy rates in rural Kenya also hinders women in participation of water project planning and management.   Forest degradation: According to the United Nations illegal encroachment have reduced Kenya’s forest cover from 12% to 1.2%. Rivers and lakes have shrunk as a result affecting access of water. One of the forest complex adversely affected is the Mau Forest complex. The water shed feeds 12 rivers and hydroelectric dams downstream and replenishes the famous wildlife preserves of Maasai Mara and Serengeti in Tanzania. Unfortunately, loggers and farmers have destroyed up to 400,000 hectares of forested land (Marshall, June,2011). This has led to increased run off and flash floods in the towns neighbouring the forest. For example in 2015 heavy rainfall in the Mau forest led to heavy flooding in Narok county resulting into the loss of life and destruction of private property. The Narok case is not unique and heavy rainfall in other parts of the country has led to erosion from cleared forest cover, poorly maintained agricultural land leading to accelerated siltation and loss of storage capacity in the country’s storage dams and pans. Out of the estimated 3,200 dams and pans countrywide, between 80% and 90% have lost at least 50% of their expected economic life from siltation (Hezron Mogaka, 2006).   Climate variability: Many parts of Africa, Kenya included are experiencing high variability in rainfall and frequent occurrences of flooding and drought with the latter causing drying of surface water resources. For example Kenya has over the past experiences severe prolonged drought spells between the years of 1990-1992, 1998-2001, 2004-2006. Droughts have devastating impacts on water availability and quality, human security and food health (Ngaira, 2009) for example, the 2004-2006 drought led to the loss of 80% of the livestock in semi-arid districts in Kenya due to lack of pasture and water. This variability not only threatens the livelihoods of pastoralists but of farmers, fishermen and even tourist operators among many others. This has a direct impact on the country’s economic growth and development.   Trans-boundary ground and surface water challenges: Kenya shares the Merti Aquifer basin with Somalia and the Kilimanjaro Aquifer Basin with Tanzania. Unlike trans-boundary surface water and river basins there is not much documentation and research that has been done on groundwater. Moreover there is no any memorandum of understanding that exists on how these aquifers are to be utilized. On surface water Kenya shares the Mara River Basin with Tanzania which has conflicting water uses for example, the Mara River Basin supplies water to the Maasai Mara and Serengeti game reserves and is also used for irrigation, livestock and domestic purposes. The rapid population growth along the basin has seen pressure rise on the water resource, clearance of land for agriculture and deforestation all which have a negative impact on the water quality and could result into human-wildlife conflict. The Lake Victoria Basin is also another example of a shared water resource in Kenya. The Basin is shared by Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi and occupies about 251,000 km2 while the lake itself covers 69,000 km2. 6% of the lake surface lies within Kenya, 45% in Uganda and 49% in Tanzania (UNEP, 2008). The lake is utilized for agriculture, fishing, transport and domestic use. The population around the lake annual growth is 3% which put great pressure on the water resources of Lake Victoria affecting the water quality of the lake through release of untreated sewage, overfishing and competing water needs between the riparian states. For example, Uganda has been accused of over-releasing of water at the Kiira and Nalubaale dams in order to power its dams. This is against the agreed curve agreement at how much water can be released at Owen falls (Lubovich, 2009). Such conflicting water use needs create tension among the states and hinder cooperation in managing the Lake.Invasive species: Water hyacinth was first reported in Ugandan waters in 1988 and has now spread through the lake reaching Kagera River and the Kenyan waters (Lubovich, 2009). The water hyacinth infestation affects transportation, fishing, and aquatic life and affects dam operation. According to the World Bank estimates the first outbreak in 1997 cost the riparian nations between US$6 million and US$10 million during which period Kenya saw a decline of 70% in its port activities.      On point and non-point water pollution: the causes of water pollution in Kenya are industrialization, agriculture, urbanization. The quest for Kenya to attain industrialization has seen an increase in the pollution and degradation of water resources quality. The Nairobi River which is drained by Ngong, Nairobi and Mathare rivers is heavily polluted by raw sewage from the numerous informal settlements along its banks and effluent from the industries who find it cheaper and easier to discharge their waste into the river without adequate treatment. Other examples include the Kericho tea farms, Ahero rice scheme and Mumias sugar farms discharge of domestic and industrial effluent into water bodies leading to eutrophication. Lake Victoria suffers from pollution from agricultural areas such as Kericho and Nandi tea farms while Lake Naivasha is polluted with chemicals from the horticultural farms in the area  According to the National Environment Management Authority (2004) Kenya’s urban population growth rate is 8% per annum which not only presents a present problem in domestic and industrial waste management and provision of safe water and sanitation but also paints a grim picture for the future.     Inadequate funding: Kenya’s ground water potential has not fully been realized because of the high cost associated with drilling for water and the technical challenges in finding sources that are large enough to cater for the needs of the population. In some cases where wells are in existence, they are poorly maintained due to limited financial resources leading to easy contamination of the water. Limited funding has meant that research in this field is not sufficient and data and information that could contribute to water resources management is scarce (Hezron Mogaka, 2006).  For example, water allocation and abstraction decisions are based on inadequate data opening opportunities for water permits to be issued out without following proper procedure to meet the interests of a few. There is also inadequate investment in the water sector by private investors since it requires heavy investment and is closely regulated by the government since it is a national resource.   Weak environmental institutions: the institutions mandated with the protection of the environment and its resources are underfunded, under staffed and over worked. This has made it difficult for example, for the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) to fully prosecute those polluting water resources and carrying out illegal activities such as sand harvesting, effluent discharge into rivers, and abstraction of water. The fines associated with these offences do not reflect the damage caused or the cost of rehabilitating the affected water resources. There is a common saying in Kenya that NEMA is a toothless dog since it has no capacity or financial ability to fulfill its environmental protection mandate which include the protection of water resources. In conclusion, Water is a fundamental human right, one which every Kenyan has a right to enjoy without any limitation. This right is embedded in the National constitution of Kenya Article 43 (1d) states that every person has the right to clean and safe water in adequate quantities. Therefore, the water challenges need to be addressed through the collaborative efforts and involvement of all stakeholders so that this right is secured and assured to for all citizens.       Works Cited FAO. (2014). The state of food insecurity in the world. Rome: Food and Agriculture Orrganization of the United Nations. Hezron Mogaka, S. G. (2006). Climate variability and water resources degredation in Kenya:Improving water resources development and management. Washington: World Bank Publications. Kenya, T. G. (2008). The Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. Lubovich, K. (2009). Cooperation and Competition: Managing Transboundary Water Resources in the Lake Victoria Region . Foundation for Environmental Security and Sustainability. Marshall, S. (June,2011). The Water Crisis in Kenya: Causes, Effects and Solutions. Global Majority E-Journal , 31-45. NEMA. (2010). Kenya state of the Environment and Outlook 2010. Supporting the delivery of vision 2030. National Environment Management Authority. Ngaira, J. K. (2009). Challenges of water resource management and food production in a changing climate in Kenya. Journal of Geography and Regional Planning Vol 2 , 97-103. UNEP, G. (2008). Transboundary issues. Wambu Charles.K, M. K. (2015). Gender Disparities in Water Resource Management Projects in Njoro Sub-County Kenya. International Journal of Social Science Studies . WRMA. (2015). WRMA perfomance report. Kenya: Water Resource Management Authority.    

This is going to be a quick one mostly because I am worn out and it is almost time to board my flight. It is past midnight and as I sit here in the waiting lounge I am hit by memories of when we were all here together. I can almost hear the voices and see where each of us sat last time we were here. Good memories those are. There is always comfort travelling in numbers because you know you have something to fall back on. This time I am travelling alone and I am both excited and a bit anxious to be doing this. I always look at such trips as a challenge to get out of my social shell and expand my networks and build on my communication skills and explore. That said this trip has been a long time coming and I have learnt so much along the way I thought I should share some of the lessons; The most important lesson is surrounding yourself with positive people. I have to confess that there are times I wondered if all the effort was worth it but I have two very important positive ladies in my life that would not let me give up midway. We are all filled with doubt once in a while but when we surround ourselves with positive people who believe in us and our abilities we can feed off their positive energy until we believe it ourselves. We need to form strong friendships that not only feed our emotional needs but also those that push us to greatness. I also came to realize that most times we do not receive because we never ask. We are so scared of what people are going to think or the correctness of our questions that we end up missing great opportunities. There are so many people willing to help us and hold our hand that all we need to do is ask. Sometimes the answer will be no but eventually a resounding yes will come our way down the line. We have to be willing to take that risk though by making ourselves vulnerable and putting our pride aside and asking for help. We are living in an age where there is so much evil going on that sometimes we forget the human goodness that surround us. I have been a recipient of kindness these past few months and it has completely blown my mind. There are so many people who have gone out of their way, friends and strangers that without them all this could not have been possible. It is heartwarming to be on the receiving end of such acts and I hope I can pay it forward. I think we will never realize what is on offer unless we ask. We have to show consistency in our commitment and reach out to those who have used the road before us. Life is a give and take and it is beautiful when you get to walk it with likeminded people cheering you on.

The Pan African University in its continuous pursuit of excellence is hosting a curricula review workshop. Follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/PAUWES) to get details of each presenter and topics addressed to improve the Africa’s higher learning Institutions. Below is a list of keynote speakers at the curricula review workshop. Prof. Kassa BELAY, Rector, Pan African University Prof. Kebir BOUCHERIT, Rector, University of Tlemcen Prof Abdellatif ZERGA, Director, PAUWES Prof Joseph MUTALE, University of Manchester Dr. Nina VOLLES BIRD, GIZ Representative to Tlemcen Angela COETZEE, Sustainability Institute Germany # CoP #PAUWES #CurriculaReview