YALUMA

THE Patriotic Front (PF) Government’s quest to develop power generation infrastructure throughout the country is one of the major items on its development agenda.
It is a fact that Zambia and other countries in the region have over the last decade been affected by substantial power deficit due to inadequate electricity infrastructure that has seen demand outstripping supply.
Massive investments have since been pumped into the power generation sector in the last three years by the Government and cooperating partners. All this is aimed at supporting various economic activities that have sprung up in the country.
There has been development of projects such as the newly commissioned 180 megawatts generator at the Kariba North Bank in Siavonga to increase the national grid generating capacity.
This comes one year after President Michael Sata commissioned the first generator with the same capacity of 360 megawatts.
The total cost for the two generators is worth US$421.1 million and has been financed by China Exim Bank and the Development Bank of Southern Africa.
Additional installations to the national electricity grid will also help to reduce load shedding which has characterised the country in the last six years or so.
Availability of enough electricity is what will trigger rapid economic development in far flung areas of the country where the Government plans to set up a number of economic clusters. This is aimed at supporting various projects like value addition and other value chain clusters for example.
This will also attract more foreign direct investments (FDIs) to these areas where there is a lot of potential in mining, transport and communication, agriculture processing, aquaculture and tourism among others.
The immediate result will be the creation of more employment opportunities for the rural population and impact positively on industrial, commercial and social activities.
Revelations by Energy Minister Christopher Yaluma that only 8.8 per cent of the rural population has access to electricity countrywide, has been a source of concern to the Government which is now addressing the issue.
Mr Yaluma, who was officiating at the launch of the World Panel Mobile Phone solar charging solution in Lusaka last week, noted that the limited access to electricity by the rural population, will affect their participation in the country’s economic development.
They will in addition,  be unable to even take part in the communication revolution as well as  economic growth that mobile phones have so far created in the world.
A number of social infrastructure as well as other economic projects mooted by local and foreign investors in rural areas have so far remained on paper, all because of lack of access to electricity.
As Vice- President Guy Scott has rightly stated, the vision of the PF Government for the country is to have a nation where all citizens both urban and rural areas, have access to electricity.