Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene November - December 2016 vol.11 No.6 | Page 11

NEWS in brief

Around Africa
city is urging all debtors to at least pay their current bill in full and make payment arrangements for the debt owing ,” said the city ’ s acting corporate communications manager Mr Michael Chideme .
The affected suburbs are Mt Pleasant , Strathaven , Avondale West , Avonlea , Mabelreign , Borrowdale West , CBD industrial , Arcadia , Amby Msasa , Alexandra Park , Beverly Msasa , Bluffhill , Budiriro , Crowborough , Dzivaresekwa , Mufakose , Kuwadzana , Kambuzuma and Warren Park .
According to the city ’ s financial report for the period January 1 to September 30 , acting finance director Mr Tendai Kwenda reported that the prevailing economic challenges had affected most residents and corresponding revenue flows .
“ Debtors were reported at $ 532,2 million , creditors stood at $ 421 , 5 million . Actual collections amounted to $ 111,6 million .
“ During discussion , the acting finance director bought to the attention of the committee the declining revenue collections and also reported that measures such as the engagement of debt collector , intensified water disconnection and set offs were being implemented to mitigate the challenges ,” read the minutes .
Davis & Shirtliff partners with German solar manufacturer SMA to supply energy solutions in East Africa
SMA Managing Director , Mr . Thorsten Ronge at the official agreement signing with Mr . David Gatende , Davis & Shirtliff ’ s CEO
Davis & Shirtliff , East Africa ’ s leading supplier of water and energy products has announced their Exclusive Distributor partnership with German global solar market leader , SMA Solar Technology AG .
Solar inverters for photovoltaic systems
SMA is a manufacturer and supplier of solar inverters for photovoltaic systems with electricity grid connection , off-grid power supply and backup operations . Together with Davis & Shirtliff , the partnership will offer innovative key technologies for future power supply structures in the region .
After his arrival in Nairobi , SMA Managing Director , Thorsten Ronge lead his team in a training and product sharing seminar held at Davis & Shirtliff ’ s knowledge centre in Nairobi ’ s Industrial Area .
In Kenya , SMA inverters have been used in multiple solar installations e . g . the ultra-modern Garden City Mall , Thika Road as well as Strathmore College , Nairobi West . Headquartered in Niestetal , Germany , it was founded in 1981 and enjoys a global market share of 21 % with 3,000 staff employed globally .
Speaking in advance of the official agreement signing , David Gatende , Davis & Shirtliff ’ s CEO said “ Recent advances in technology coupled with the falling price of solar modules has meant that green , economical and smart solutions are now available for most water and energy requirements including hot water , lighting , power back-up , water pumping and even water treatment .”
Kenya is blessed with climate suitable to harness the renewable free source of solar energy , that is totally inexhaustible and sustainable . As a non-polluting energy source , solar does not emit greenhouse gases when producing electricity .
“ As the country embraces devolution , Industrial consumers who struggle with regular power outages or have no access to the utility grid need no longer be dependent on expensive diesel electricity supply . With an SMA grid connect solution they can turn their rooftops into solar power generating systems saving money and reducing CO2 emissions .
Davis & Shirtliff is a major provider of various photovoltaic solar powered solutions for water pumping , lighting , water treatment and on grid electricity generation with over 70 years of experience . It has 50 branches spread across nine countries in East and Southern Africa .
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