{American hip-hop and R&B artist and producer Akon, is expected in Kigali on Tuesday to discuss with Rwandan officials how he can invest in energy, KT Press has learnt.}<\/p>\n
Akon who is apparently in Nairobi attending conferences alongside US President Barack Obama, will fly to Kigali to meet with Infrastructure Minister James Musoni, RDB and other officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is meeting officials over that project, which is still in the initial steps,\u201d a source has told KT Press.<\/p>\n
Akon is running a project called Akon Lighting Africa, which seeks to provide a response to Africa\u2019s energy crisis.<\/p>\n
Launched in February 2014 by international music star, the one billion dollar initiative aims to develop an innovative solar-powered solution that will provide African villages with access to a clean and affordable source of electricity.<\/p>\n
Rwanda is one of the countries facing acute energy shortages, currently running on 119MW capacity yet the country needs 563MW, worth US$2.7 billion in the next four years.<\/p>\n
The country wants to increase access to electricity to 70% of households by 2017, up from current 22%.<\/p>\n
To fill the current gap in the energy sector, the country has planned to invest in domestic resources, but also import over 400MW from neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya.<\/p>\n
An agreement to import 30MW has already been signed with Kenya.<\/p>\n
The government is in a processes of signing a deal with local companies to lease 17 public hydro power plants to boost the national grid.<\/p>\n
Akon\u2019s deal is another effort, if all goes as planed.<\/p>\n
Akon has said that Africa needs to be sustainable for a long time and be a crutch for the rest of world instead of the other way around.<\/p>\n
For this to happen, the American supper start says, Africa needs energy. Without it, Africa will not do \u201cthe things we need to do.<\/p>\n
{{Source: KT Press}}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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