1.5TR/- NEEDED FOR RURAL POWER in Tanzania

Please have a look at the statements by this government official as appeared in one of the local papers. This is significant amount of money. It can be difficult for the government to invest all this money in near future and provide electricity to almost all people in the rural areas, the 80% of the Tanzanian population. 1.5TR/- NEEDED FOR RURAL POWER

VERONICA SIMBA Daily News; Thursday,March 01, 2007 @00:05

ABOUT 1.5tr /- is needed to supply electricity in all areas of the country, Assistant Commissioner for Energy and Petroleum Affairs, Mr Theophilo Bwakea, said yesterday. Mr Bwakea, who spoke to reporters after attending a consultative meeting for electricity stakeholders in Dar es Salaam, said the amount is for transmission and fixing of networks. Speaking earlier at the opening of the meeting, Deputy Minister for Energy and Minerals William Ngeleja said the government was in the final stages of establishing the Rural Energy Agency (REA) with the objective of fostering development of energy services in the rural areas. "This is because access to electricity for the Tanzanian community is exceptionally low, at 10 per cent of the population, out of which only 1 per cent is in rural areas," he revealed. The electricity stakeholders' meeting was organised by the Energy and Water Utility Regulatory Authority (EWURA) to deliberate and share experiences on a number of critical issues concerning the energy sector. Mr Bwakea said currently there is an investment in the energy sector, which will soon make the country stop relying entirely on unreliable hydroelectricity. He said energy supply has started exceeding the demand due to increased investments in the sector. "Currently, we are able to produce 900 megawatts while the consumption is only 650 megawatts," he explained.