Despite an abundance of potential energy resources and a ready market, ours is still one of the countries that cannot light the homesteads of the majority of its people and reliably supply power for productive activities.

In these countries, the level of electrification is between a meagre five and 15 per cent of the population. The power supply scenario becomes grimmer as one moves further from Dar es Salaam and inland from the other major towns.

Currently, only about 10 per cent of Tanzanians have electricity in their homes. The ratio is a clear indication of the extent of the problem facing the country and a good sign of failure of past and present power security measures.

Sustainable development and poverty reduction targets will never be attained in this country until energy difficulties and power shortages are sorted out.

And doing that calls for exploration and exploitation of alternative energy sources such as wind, biomass, solar, and natural gas that are all abundantly available in the country.

The use of solar energy, for example, would greatly boost the rural electrification programme that has yet to be implemented.

Many a time, experts have said that the sun is a good alternative source for families that cannot afford Tanesco's electricity and often live off the national power grid.

Solar power initiatives and projects have proved beyond reasonable doubt that use of its energy is cost effective although the initial investment is generally high.

The experiment has shown promise in schools and hospitals across the country, hotels in remote areas, and homes. And most recently, some traffic lights are on solar power in Dar es Salaam.

The solar potential in Tanzania is so huge that a US-based company is ready to commit millions of dollars to generate some 100 MW for sale. These investors are ready to put their money into the project because the geographic features make much of East Africa well suited for renewable energy solutions.

It is the best confirmation so far that solar energy is not just a solution for rural villagers, but can be beneficial to the whole nation, as its effective use could greatly reduce the burden on the struggling national grid.