Government says the full implementation of the Rural Electrification master plan will commence next year and will require US$50 million.
Energy Minister Kenneth Konga said government is currently working with all stakeholders in the energy including cooperating partners to ensure the project is financed accordingly.
Mr. Konga said this during the aural question and answer session during parliamentary sittings which resumed today after it was adjourned indefinitely following the death of the late President Mwanawasa.
He said the government will implement the rural electrification master plan from 2008 to 2030 as envisaged and enshrined in the vision 2030 document.
He however said that government is currently experiencing challenges in raising funds for the project.
Mr. Konga added that government will provide most of the funding for the rural electrification project while cooperating partners will provide the shortfall.
And the energy minister has said government is also currently encouraging the use of other forms of energy to prevent deforestation.
Mr. Konga said among the alternative forms of energy being encouraged in rural areas that are distant from the national electricity grid are solar, biomass and wind energy among others in order to mitigate deforestation.
The energy minister has also disclosed that government has also embarked on feasibility studies to establish more hydro electric power stations for power generation.
Meanwhile parliament observed a minute of silence in honour of the late President Mwanawasa who died at Percy Military Hospital in Paris, France where he was evacuated after suffering a stroke in Egypt where he had gone to attend the African Union (AU) Summit.
And speaker of the national assembly Amusa Mwanamwambwa urged the members of parliament to conduct business in the house solemnly in honour of President Mwanawasa.
Meanwhile Representative of Government Business in Parliament George Mpombo read the late Dr. Mwanawasa’s eulogy to the house after the aural and answers question session.
ZANIS/CM/ENDS/MM
So what is the Master Plan, that 50 million US$ has already gone into private hands…. u would think our leaders are Nigerian
What rubbish! Why talk about it when you have not even raised the funds. Batampa uku polomesha (promises).
But then again t works in Africa.
Konga! you are just campaigning ,this is not the right time to talk about Rural Electrification, you just want votes from the Rural areas, we are sick and tired of your talks,just to ask you one quetion, how many places have you electrified in the Rural areas,Please no more cheap politics.Its time for you guys to go.
ba Konga master plan kwisa?load shedding yachilamo, did the Japanese do the master plan like they did for the Lusaka roads?
DONT LISTEN TO THEM. THIS IS PART OF ELECTION FEVER (OR, IS IT CAMPAIGN). CANT U READ BTWN THE LINES. “…RURAL ELECTRIFICATION MASTER PLAN…” THEY ARE COXING RURAL DWELLERS OUT OF THEIR BALLOT PAPER. THEY HAVE MASTERED THE RURAL POPULATIONS’ SOFT SPOT.
CAN WE HAVE A BREAKDOWN OF YOUR MASTER PLAN CROOKS?
ABAASH CHEAP POLITICS. WHAT PLANS? WHAT ABOUT LOADSHEDDING? NO PLANS , DONT FOOL PIPO AROUND, THESE ARE PROMISARY NOTES. bA KONGA JUST PREPARE WERE TO GO, ITS OVER DAYS ARE NUMBERED.
Ma Lubbish….
you cut off zimbabwe, instead of telling us that power is gonnabe sufficient you say there will be more load shedding. I just dont get the sense
Rural electrification how do go rural when you are keeping customers whom have paid for connection in town for more than 12 months without connecting them on the pretex of no poles.
ala ba Konga the days of cheating Zambians is over. We are tired of you MMD, JUST GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
People of Zed what really hurts is this man is talking about something he agrees they have no money for. Why talk about it?
The sad thing like I said earlier is it works in Africa. They are going to convience that villager and immediately they get his vote, they are gone.
Chances are they do not even have this master plan on paper. I have always said these are things we should change in our constitution-talking about doing this or doing that when it is election time.
Alabane, kuya bebele, unless you do a Bob Mugabe! lol
ba konga you are useless,go to – hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.those are cheap politics.
Wow Election fever you’re going
Master plan my foot!!!!!!!!!!!!
We never had these power cuts in the time of Mr. Robby Mwansa. Then Rodney Sisala comes and all of a sudden there are power cuts. Incompetence bati!!!!!!
Master plan my foot!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am so sick of MMD and their cheap politics, now that they know that we are voting the out they want to woo us with the electricity master plan hell no! we are not going to buy that ala bane kuya bebele! May the remaining two months be last the time will ever hear of them. Ala nipabwatofye mukwai Sata is the next kateka!
am equally failing to understand why the load shedding is still going on when we they have cut off supply to Zimbabwe,then the poor people in rural areas will also be subjected to such nonsense
“He [Mr Konga] however said that government is currently experiencing challenges in raising funds for the project.”
And they see it fit to milk the population through taxes to fund their increased salaries. What a sad state of affairs.
We are really tired of these load shedding and seriously the next GRZ should put up plans of cushioning this. We have suffered enough. When you knock off from work, you want to go and have a hot bath, sit and watch TV after a hard day’s work and instead of that, its a dark continent and cooking on the mbaula, cold bath, etc. You only have power after 22.30 and by 05.30, its off again and at the end of the month you have to pay them money for the service you hardly receive. Its really sad what we are going through. Things like fuel, electricity, water, schools, medicals, etc should be P1 for the next GRZ, we are tired of MMD and their cheap politics of talking big when its election time.
This project will be implemented alright … just that Konga won’t be in government by then. Empowerment to the people.
Konga is not even ashamed to talk about rural electrification when they cant’ meet the current electricity needs of the country. We are tired of load shedding which he(Konga & Sisala) have failed to minimise, instead they talk of increased load shedding, How on earth do you expect to extend this misery to rural areas. Lets be serious, abash cheap politics!!!
This is a joke! I remember when my late uncle was the manager of the office for promoting private power investment… it was found by the office and the world bank that the country would need a hundred million dollars($100million) to completely electrify the rural areas. you need to hear this… then in the budget for that particular year the government allocated one million dollars($1million) to the project. as my uncle was a professional and so were the bidders he represented he and they were shocked at this. I remember him saying “are they serious!! so do these people mean to say it should take us a hundred years to electrify this Bit+h??” thats government for you. So shut up Konga!
This is cheap campaign I have ever head of,
Once upon a time, there was MMD.
Rubbish gimmicks….
Power losses have nothing to do with our Robbie or in the incompetent Rodney S. National Power deficeit is now cathing up with the more affluent Zambia citizenry and at the same time the increase in heavily industrialised firms means any loss of generation at Kariba, Kafue or even Livingstone means the system is compromised. Chris Mubemba explained it clearly but unfortunately this is like the weather in some conditions pilots will fly and in others they will only take risks. What Zambia needs is diversification into coal powered, gas powered and even nuclear power.
Did you see how much South Africa needs to bridge its power shortfall?
Ba Kongo was not exactly a sharp pencil at ZESCO although he held a directorship. My recollection of him was that the man failed to get the computerisation of Zesco. Even Robbie was getting tired of the man but he had protection from further up the chain plot # 1. If rural electrification takes off and succeeds where is the energy to come from? Presently, the Energy experts are predicting shortfalls until the lower gorge and upgrades are complete.
we’ r tired of feak promises,we need leaders who can deliver and give hope to the youth.
invest in power generation
#NO27,PROBLEMS DO NOT ONLY AFFECT THE YOUTH. THE PROBLEM OF LOAD SHEDDING AFFECTS US ALL
NAULALA FYE AND EXPECT MANNER FROM HEAVEN BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU ARE SPECIAL AS A YOUTH” WHAT ARE YU DOING TO BRING THE PROBLEM TO AN END AS A YOUTH ?
CONCENRTARTE ON WHAT YOU CAN DO AS A YOUTH TO TAKE OUR DEVELOPMENT TO GREATER HEIGHTS AS A YOUTH?
ANY WAY ZESCO PROMISED THAT LOAD SHEDDING WILL MINIMISE IN AUGUST BUT IT LOOKS AS IF THE GOAL POSTS ARE CHANGING, WHTA DO YOU THINK?
A NEW MANAGEMENT BETTER BE PUT IN PLACE
NO27,PROBLEMS DO NOT ONLY AFFECT THE YOUTH. THE PROBLEM OF LOAD SHEDDING AFFECTS US ALL
NAULALA FYE AND EXPECT MANNER FROM HEAVEN BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU ARE SPECIAL AS A YOUTH” WHAT ARE YU DOING TO BRING THE PROBLEM TO AN END AS A YOUTH ?
CONCENTRATE ON WHAT YOU CAN DO AS A YOUTH TO TAKE OUR DEVELOPMENT TO GREATER HEIGHTS ?
ANY WAY ZESCO PROMISED THAT LOAD SHEDDING WILL MINIMISE IN AUGUST BUT IT LOOKS AS IF THE GOAL POSTS ARE CHANGING, WHTA DO YOU THINK?
A NEW MANAGEMENT BETTER BE PUT IN PLACE
#NO27,PROBLEMS DO NOT ONLY AFFECT THE YOUTH. THE PROBLEM OF LOAD SHEDDING AFFECTS US ALL
NAULALA FYE AND EXPECT MANNER FROM HEAVEN BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU ARE SPECIAL AS A YOUTH” WHAT ARE YU DOING TO BRING THE PROBLEM TO AN END AS A YOUTH ?
CONCENTRATE ON WHAT YOU CAN DO AS A YOUTH TO TAKE OUR DEVELOPMENT TO GREATER HEIGHTS AS A YOUTH?
ANY WAY ZESCO PROMISED THAT LOAD SHEDDING WILL MINIMISE IN AUGUST BUT IT LOOKS AS IF THE GOAL POSTS ARE CHANGING, WHTA DO YOU THINK?
A NEW MANAGEMENT BETTER BE PUT IN PLACE
This all talk about load shedding is sickening to the stomach and it clearly tells you that the ones incharge dont have any knowledge on management of any nature,I somewhat blame the people who picked Sisala,the man was just head of a dept in c/b and today he is put to run Zesco,his previous job was nt even at regional level,how in the world are we going to get to greater heights if we have poeple who cant understand Jack work in higher positions,and for Mr,Konga talk is cheap,Zesco it making us cough k 2.8 million for connection of electricity which we pay instantly but only get connected years later,with Zesco putting up a story of back log on clients,cn we make it surely? Sisala must GO!