DODOMA: THE government has confirmed that Tanzania’s rural electrification programme is now complete, with all 12,318 villages in the country connected to power.
This was said in the National Assembly yesterday by the Deputy Minister for Energy, Ms Judith Kapinga, while responding to a question posed by CCM Special Seats legislator, Jacqueline Andrew.
“The task of providing power to all 12,318 villages in the country is now complete. The focus of the programme is now shifting to the country’s hamlets,” said Ms Kapinga.
The deputy minister explained that the rural electrification programme at the village level was completed in January 2025, with the Rural Energy Agency (REA) overseeing the project.
In her question, legislator Andrew had asked when the government would complete the electrification of all hamlets across the country, which are more numerous than the villages.
Ms Kapinga responded that by January 2025, the government, through REA, had already provided power to 33,657 hamlets out of a total of 64,359 sub-villages, representing 52.3 per cent.
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She added that the remaining 30,702 hamlets will receive power through the ongoing electricity densification programme.
The deputy minister further said that the government had developed a programme to electrify 20,000 hamlets, which began in the 2023/2024 financial year.
This programme, expected to take between five and ten years to complete, currently covers 4,020 hamlets, with several projects already underway.
Ms Kapinga also noted that the electrification programme would extend to mining sites in the country, some of which have already been supplied with power.
During the Africa Heads of State Energy Summit at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre (JNICC) in Dar es Salaam last month, President Samia Suluhu Hassan highlighted four key areas of focus for Tanzania’s implementation of the National Energy Compact.
The initiative aims to accelerate electricity access, targeting 75 per cent coverage by 2030.
