Page 12 - AfrElec Week 41 2022

AfrElec RURAL ELECTRIFICATION AfrElec

Rwandan President raises

$800mn to support Zimbabwe’s

rural electrification project

ZIMBABWE ZIMBABWE plans to launch an $800mn rural rate was 53% of the 2020 population. World
electrification project in October the funding Bank data indicate that the urban access rate
of which was secured for the southern African was 85.7% and the rural one was 37.1%. Rwan-
nation by Rwandan President Paul Kagame, a da’s ambassador to Zimbabwe, James Musoni,
local weekly reports. is cited in Rwandan paper The New Times on
Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe’s presi- Monday (October 10) welcoming the coopera-
dent, announced the development on Saturday tion between the two countries.
(October 8) while addressing his supporters “This is the model of Africa we want which
of his ruling ZANU-PF at a rally in Chiredzi, a the president is championing,” he said. “Where
small town southeast of the country. African leaders work together to find solutions
“We have a programme which is coming at which traditionally have been left to the devel-
the end of this month,” he said, according to oped world.”
state-owned The Sunday Mail. “President Kag- In recent years, ZESA has struggled to pro-
ame of Rwanda is visiting us for this occasion. vide power reliably, partly due to rising demand
This is after I spoke to him to say, fellow brother, outstripping output. Its generating arm, Zimba-
our country Zimbabwe is on sanctions but we bwe Power Company, was producing 1,168MW
have a programme to ensure everyone has access by noon on Monday (October 10) it said on its
to electricity wherever they are. President Kag- website, yet demand averages 1,700MW.
ame then spoke to his friends and he secured Mnangagwa acknowledged in his address
$800mn. So that’s the facility that he is coming at the rally that the country is experiencing a
to launch.” power shortage but expressed hope that a Chi-
The Rural Electrification Agency, a unit of nese-funded expansion of a coal-fired plant west
power utility, ZESA Holdings (ZESA), said in of the country to add 600MW by March 2023
June 2022 that the national electricity access could help ease the crisis.™

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