Ministry of Energy says it has accelerated rural electrification through Ndawala Project, an intervention which has connected about 8000 new applicants to the national grid by July this year.
Under the project which started in may 2019, Malawi Rural Electrification Programme(Marep) is providing capital towards connecting vulnerable rural populations to the national grid.
Speaking to Journalist on the progress of the project in Lilongwe on Saturday, Minister of Energy Newton Kambala said before Ndawala Project, less than 3000 customers under Marep phase Eight were connected national wide.
He said:”However, 16 008 people under Ndawala of which 8823 have been connected by July, 2020.”
”To put it into perspective, more than 11000 customers have been connected under Marep phase Eight Ndawala Project compared to less than 3000 in the same period before Ndawala was introduced.”
Kambala said the project will accelerate electrification in all Marep sites through the provision of incentives such as wiring of customers’ installation and service connection on pilot basis.
He said the ministry intends to increase electricity access from the current 12 percent to 30 percent by 2030, adding that the Ndawala Project will play a key role to achieve the target.
Under Ndawala Project, selected beneficiaries enter into a soft loan agreement with no interest charged and repayment of the loan is through purchase of electricity units where 40 percent of the purchase is deducted.
National Energy Policy 2018 targets to have universal access to electricity by 2030 of which 70 percent will come from decentralized energy systems as mini-grids and solar home systems.
Earlier this year, Ministry of Energy spokesperson Saidi Banda said prospective beneficiaries of the project are the most vulnerable households who are within the 500-metre radius from a transformer.
Source: The Nation_October 21, 2020_Dumbani Mzale-Staff Writer