admin | February 9, 2015
Only 44 per cent of Zimbabwe’s three million households are connected to the national electricity supply, according to a report issued by the Sustainable African Energy Consortium. Twenty per cent of urban households in the country have no access to electricity, and rely mainly on firewood for energy.
Joshua Mashamba is chief executive of the Rural Electrification Agency. He says: “As of now, in the rural areas, there is energy poverty … 90 per cent [of rural households] remain un-electrified and do not have access to modern energy.”
Panganayi Sithole is the executive director of the Zimbabwe Energy Council. He says: “The prevalence of energy poverty in Zimbabwe cuts across both urban and rural areas. The situation is very dire in peri-urban areas due to deforestation and the non-availability of modern energy services.”
To read the full article, go to: http://www.ipsnews.net/2015/01/zimbabwe-battles-with-energy-poverty/
Photo caption and credit: Wood market in Chitungwiza. Twenty percent of the urban households in Zimbabwe do not have access to electricity, and rely mainly on firewood for their energy needs. Tonderayi Mukeredzi/IPS