Renew´N´Able Malawi (Renama) has courted some NGOs to raise awareness on sustainable energy sources to communities. Speaking last week during sustainable energy advocacy training in Blantyre for some NGOs in the Southern Region, Renama advocacy officer Kenneth Mtago said there is need for consolidated efforts to eradicate energy poverty in the country.
“People lack access to renewable and sustainable energy that is why economic activities choke with the infamous power outages. We have to promote access to green and inclusive power alternatives like solar solutions. Rural households need to uptake energy-efficient cook stoves and make briquettes for clean usage of biomass that reduce pressure on forests and air pollution,” he said. Mtago said these activists should advocate for sustainable energy as most of the community challenges emanate from energy poverty. One of the participants to the training, programme officer at Tikambe Youth Organisation (TYO) in Mwanza, David Samikwa hailed Renama for the meeting, saying they have realized poor access to sustainable energy frustrates their efforts of improving lives of rural Malawians.
“It is pathetic that rural households on national grid are below 2 percent. We cannot have recommended number of qualified medical doctors and teachers because none want to live in areas without electricity,” he said.