DEVELOPMENT OF ENERGY SECTOR: State cheers private sector, WB
Dodoma: DEPUTY Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Dr Dotto Biteko has commended the contribution by the Private Sector and Development Partners in bringing success to the energy sector, with the World Bank in Tanzania providing 300 million US dollars that will be spent in connecting electricity to all villages in the country.
The Deputy Prime Minister urged the private sector to continue tapping the emerging opportunities available in the energy sector.
He also directed all institutions and departments under the Energy Ministry as well as the Ministry of State, President’s Office, Planning and Investment to go through the 2022/2023 performance reports of the electricity, gas, petroleum sub-sectors as well as making a comprehensive analysis on the challenges and suggest solutions within the next three months.
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He was speaking when officiating at an inauguration event for the 2022/23 performance reports in the Energy sector, where he paid tribute to the private sector, saying that it had made an exemplary performance in the implementation of various projects, giving an example where the private sector had contributed up to 222MW of the total 1,911 MW.
“The private sector has always been with the government by adding up to where the government did not perform to the desired target, especially in the electricity, fuel and gas sub-sectors,’’ he noted.
At the colourful event attended by top government officials and representatives from the private sector, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy, Engineer Felchesmi Mramba said that the World Bank Group had committed 300 million US dollars in efforts to intensify the campaign to supply electricity in all villages countrywide.
In his keynote address, Eng Mramba said that the Bretton Woods Institution reached the decision to dish out the support after it did an assessment which concluded that Tanzania was among the countries in the African continent that were leading in the provision of electricity to their people.
“The WB has provided 300m US dollars so as to boost the government’s efforts in the supply of electricity in rural Tanzania after being satisfied with the efficiency in the sector,’’ he said.
According to him, the WB Country Director decided to travel from Dar es Salaam to the country’s capital Dodoma to meet the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Energy to commend him for the good job done under the sixth phase government led by President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan.
In April, 2024, The World Bank Group and African Development Bank Group said they are partnering on an ambitious effort to provide at least 300 million people in Africa with electricity access by 2030.
In the partnership, the World Bank Group will work to connect 250 million people to electricity through distributed renewable energy systems or the distribution grid while the African Development Bank Group will support an additional 50 million people.
Access to electricity is a fundamental human right and is foundational to any successful development effort. Currently, 600 million Africans lack access to electricity, creating significant barriers to health care, education, productivity, digital inclusivity and ultimately job creation.
“Electricity access is the bedrock of all development. It is a critical ingredient for economic growth and essential for job creation at scale. Our aspiration will only be realised with partnership and ambition. We will need policy action from governments, financing from multilateral development banks and private sector investment to see this through,” said the World Bank Group President, Ajay Banga.