Infrastructure news from around the continent

MALAWI

Shire River flood management

The implementation of locally relevant solutions and a national guideline for community-based flood risk management (FRM), aimed at communities and NGOs in the Lower Shire Valley in Malawi, is one of the first of its kind to be developed globally. Leading consulting engineering and infrastructure advisory firm Zutari undertook the project in association with BRLi of France and a local Malawi-based engineering firm.

Prior to the Shire River flood risk management project, no guidelines for FRM planning, design and implementation existed at district, traditional authority or group village head level in Malawi. The project aimed to address this by developing approaches for FRM planning, costing appropriate approaches to address flooding, implementing these in selected villages and capturing these experiences in national guidelines for the Malawian Department of Disaster Management Affairs and the Department of Irrigation and Water Development.

KENYA

Self-reading meters to empower end-users

Kenya Power aims to increase its post-paid customers by using selfreading meters.

Last year, the company introduced the self-reading service that is available on the USSD code *977#, where postpaid customers can register to read their meters at the end of their billing cycle and submit the readings for accurate billing.

“Self-reading of meters will empower our postpaid customers to proactively engage with us on all matters that relate to billing for their electricity consumption. It is targeted to enhance satisfaction among our customers through accurate and timely billing, which will eliminate bill Through intensive and sustained community and stakeholder consultations in the valley, the project identified the communities regularly affected by floods (230 000 people), conceptualised and prioritised interventions for the worst-affected communities (187 000 people), and used hydrodynamic modelling to design 34 large-scale civil works and 41 labour-intensive community-based interventions that will reduce the flood risk of 86 000 and 10 000 people respectively.

Zutari also oversaw the construction of 10 interventions (protection for 45 000 people) and implemented an appropriate flood warning system across the valley operated by the communities themselves.

The designs maximised the use of local labour and materials, are low maintenance in character and, where constructed, have already provided protection during two tropical cyclones. Once the national guidelines were completed, training commenced across the valley. This focused on building a basic understanding of floods, FRM and planning for floods at a community level. The training was undertaken through innovative means, including theatre and advertisements on local radio stations.

estimations and therefore reduce customer complaints arising from the same,” said Geoffrey Waswa Muli, acting MD, KenPower.

Currently, 2.1 million customers are on postpaid billing while 6.8 million customers are on prepaid (tokens). Apart from selfreading, the USSD code also enables prepaid customers to retrieve the last three purchased tokens, which is helpful especially when customers want to reference their electricity consumption trends.

Customers can also use the platform to report power outages for quick resolution, confirm the authenticity of persons presenting themselves as Kenya Power staff, as well as track the progress of their connectivity application.

During the last financial year, the monthly average of customer transactions on the *977# platform stood at 1.6 million. The company is targeting to increase these transactions to an average of 2 million by the end of its financial year.

SENEGAL

€28 million towards road improvements

These funds will support the construction of 28 km of urban roads in asphalt, paving stones and concrete that will link six municipalities – Yeumbel Nord (Dakar suburbs), Keur Massar and Guédiawaye (Dakar region), Thiès (west), Kaolack (centre-west), and Saint-Louis (north-west).

This financing will also be used for drainage, public lighting and the construction or repair of cabins that can be used as restaurants and sheds. An empowerment centre will also be set up to advance woman and youth employment. Under the initiative, local authorities will receive training in geographic information systems, database management, planning, investment programming and procurement.

The project forms part of the Senegal Cities Modernisation Programme that contributes towards boosting decentralisation and promoting economic and social development.

GHANA

Recovering waste to reduce methane emissions

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a global network of mayors committed to fighting climate change, are launching the Solid Waste Source Separation and Community Composting Mission programme in Accra, Ghana. The initiative will reduce methane emissions that are partly responsible for global warming.

In Accra, waste generates an average of 44% of methane emissions, 30% of which is responsible for global warming.

The C40 Climate Finance Facility is cofunding the wasteto-energy project with the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and the French Development Agency. As part of the project, a system for sorting waste at source will be put in place to facilitate the collection work in the three communities in Accra. The biodegradable material will be processed into fertiliser in a new plant. The plastic can be sold to private operators who will add raw material to make equipment such as chairs, buckets and bowls.

subsistence. All these natural resource-based livelihoods are vulnerable to climate change to some extent. Apart from temperature changes, rainfall changes have been noticed in the Zambezi Region as well as an increased length of the dry season, a decrease in the number of consecutive wet days and flooding in one season, presenting a special case and phenomena of this region.”

Nearly 70% of Namibia’s population is directly dependent on subsistence agriculture and livestock farming, adding that climate change presents a serious challenge to community livelihoods.

An integrated climate change adaptation project within the agro-ecological landscape of the Sikanjabuka Community Forest aims to increase the adaptive capacity and improve livelihoods of the community distressed by the negative impacts of climate change.

The project is focused on enhancing crop production and productivity for food security and forest harvesting substitution through the adoption of climateresilient smart farming technologies to support local livelihoods.

It is funded by the Environmental Investment Fund and implemented by the Sikanjabuka Community Forest. To date, a functional greenhouse system has been successfully established with a 10 000 litre water tank installed on-site. In addition, the project has procured one tractor and implemented it for sustainable rangeland management and procured beehives for honey production.

NAMIBIA

Increased length of dry season

Observed changes in temperature extremes, the length of the dry season and rainfall intensity indicate greater climate variability and that the climate in Namibia is tending to become drier.

According to Namibia’s Minister of Environment and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, abundant rainfall and fertile land in the Zambezi Region, with its enormous agricultural potential, far surpass other regions in the country. “Wildlife, rivers, floodplains and forests undoubtedly position the region to contribute significantly to the national economy. Livelihoods entirely depend on forestry-related activities and the use of biodiversity products to support their daily