TANZANIA: A TOTAL of 12 projects are being implemented by the Rural Energy Agency (REA) to accomplish the rural electrification process in all rural areas of Tanzania mainland.
The agency is determined to ensure that all rural areas in Mainland have access to electricity infrastructure by June 2024.
The Authority's Director of Rural Electrification, Eng Jones Olotu, assured that REA will meet the target ahead of time, saying that by June next year, all villages in the country will be fully connected to electricity infrastructure.
Eng Olotu was recently speaking on behalf of REA Director General, Engineer Hassan Said.
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.
He said the authority was ready to execute the directives before the time by June 2024.
"Among the ongoing projects that will enable us to complete connecting electricity in remaining villages are under REA phase III Round II and Rural Electrification Densification Project Round B which intended to increase the scope of connecting 1,686 hamlets in regions of Arusha, Geita, Kagera, Katavi, Kigoma, Lindi, Morogoro, Njombe and Songwe," Eng Olotu said.
Adding: "The other projects are the Rural Electrification Densification Project Round C which envisioned to connect 1,880 hamlets, peri urban round II and peri urban round III."
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He further mentioned the project to connect electricity to 66 health centres and water pumps to prevent infectious disease and Covid-19, project to connect electricity to small-scale mining areas, industry and agriculture, the project to connect electricity to 729 schools and 292 primary courts in rural areas which are key drivers to attain the agency's goal.
"Other projects are the project to connect electricity in remote islands and off-grid areas, project to facilitate construction of small stations to distribute petroleum products in rural areas through credit line facility and construction of a 220/33 kV Substation in Ifakara," he said.
In line with this, Eng Olotu said all successes attained by the authority in rural electrification were attributed to the government, particularly financial support from the government 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 was 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.
