The Rural Electrification Authority (REA) has described the increased budgetary allocation of over K740 million as historic as it will contribute to the Authority achieving its mandate of 51 percent rural electrification access rate by the year 2030.
Reacting to the K743 million National Budgetary allocation, REA Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Linus Chanda, said this was testimony that the New Dawn Government was committed to ensuring REA meets its mandate.
“We are delighted to have an allocation close to what is required for us to meet our target of 51 percent rural electrification access rate. This reaffirms government’s commitment to universal access to energy for all by 2030. The Authority is going to accelerate its efforts to make sure more communities are electrified,” he said. Eng. Chanda said REA was also working with Members of Parliament (MPs) through collaborating on constituency development plans.
“We expect some of the infrastructure to be funded through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). We will continue to strengthen our synergies with MPs by listening to their development plans as we implement our mandate across the country,” he said.
The rural electrification program is a mammoth social program which requires a huge investment. The Rural Electrification Master Plan (REMP) which is the blueprint for rural electrification recommends an annual resource requirement of US$50 million per year.
