TANZANIA: THE Rural Energy Agency (REA) has expressed its determination to ensure that all rural areas in Mainland have access to electricity infrastructure before 2025.
According to the authority so far, a total of 11,313 villages have been connected to electricity out of 12,318 villages in the country.
Speaking on behalf of REA Director General, Engineer Hassan Said, the Director of Rural Electrification Eng Jones Olotu said REA will meet the target ahead of time adding that by June next year, all villages in the country will be fully connected to electricity infrastructure.
He added that the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi election manifesto 2020-2025 directed the government to ensure that by 2025 all villages in Tanzania are connected with electricity infrastructure adding that the authority is ready to execute the directives before the time by bringing down the curtain in June 2024.
“As of today (yesterday) out of 12,318 villages, a total of 11,313 villages have been connected with electricity services and the remaining 1005 villages are seeing the contractors on site,” Eng Olotu said in Dar es Salaam, yesterday at the working session between journalists and editors with REA coordinated by the Treasury Registrar (TR) office.
He said all successes attained by the authority in rural electrification were attributed to the government, particularly financial support from the government of the sixth phase under President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
“REA has attained its goals due to the authority’s commitment, along with the financial support we get from the government,” Eng Olotu underlined.
Rural electrification is also among priorities in the 2022/23 government budget in implementation of the Third National Five-Year Development Plan (FYDP III) for 2021/22 – 2025/26, and the national development vision for 2025.
One of the key interventions in efforts to optimise the energy sector as indicated in FYDP III is to strengthen the availability and reliability of electrical power by increasing generation capacity, transmission and distribution networks;
FYDP III also intends to promote and develop renewable energy technologies and projects (Biogas, Geothermal, LPG, Solar and Wind.
Coupled with that Eng Olotu said the government invested more than 1trl/- in various projects in rural electrification.
Earlier this month, the government through the authority signed contracts with different contractors to execute the rural electrification densification 2C project worth 263.3bn/- to quicken the pace of electrifying rural areas.
A total of 13 contractors signed the contracts to implement the project in seven regions, including Iringa, Mara, Manyara, Mtwara, Rukwa, Ruvuma and Simiyu.
Speaking during the signing ceremony, REA Director General, Engineer Said, noted that the 2C project will benefit more than 90,000 initial customers in the regions.
“Rural electrification densification 2C project involves electrification of 1,880 hamlets, constructing 5,640km of LV lines, installing 1,880 distribution transformers, and connecting 94,000 initial customers in seven regions of Iringa, Mara, Manyara, Mtwara, Rukwa, Ruvuma, and Simiyu,” the REA boss underscored.
