ZESA launches solar project in rural areas
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by Paul Ndlovu
Monday, 26 April 2010 15:29
HARARE – The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) has embarked on a US$ 24 million solar project to encourage rural people to start income generating projects.
The programme is being run through ZESA’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
The programme provides loan facilities to prospective entrepreneurs to acquire machinery needed to pursue the economic development projects in rural communities.
REA acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Vurayai Guvakuva, said the programmes is an idea from 2003 that had not taken off due to lack of funds.
“We had the plan initially set in 2002 but lack of funds made it impossible to be executed. So this time around we have reserved US$24 million to execute the project,” said Guvakuva.
REA had so far disbursed about US$380 000.
The solar project initiatives were meant to encourage productive use of electricity and address issues of viability in communal areas by empowering such communities on economic development projects.
“Under the programmes, we are trying to encourage rural communities to undertake economic development enterprises that require electricity so that at the end we do not just expand electricity to communal areas. For example, the rural entrepreneurs can embark on projects like stock feed production, meat-processing, saw milling, welding,” he added.
The provision of electricity in rural communities has tremendous social benefits. Schools in rural areas are now able to embark on Information, Communication, Technology programmes while some rural schools have
introduced Science subjects at Advanced Level. It also reduces the rural to urban migration.