The European Union- EU- has given Zambia a 420 billion Kwacha grant to improve access to electricity in rural and peri-urban areas.
The money to be disbursed by the World Bank is part of the EU’s contribution to a joint project aimed at providing electricity to more people in Zambia.
The funds will go towards the extension of the electricity grid and the development of infrastructure, which includes isolated mini-hydro power stations and solar power projects.
European Commission Head of Delegation in Zambia, Derek Fee, and World Bank Country Manager, Kapil Kapoor signed an agreement in Lusaka on Thursday to finance the project.
The project dubbed ‘increased access to electricity services’,
involves the World Bank, ZESCO Limited and the EU.
Dr Fee said the electricity project will help to improve the living standards of people in rural and peri urban areas.
And Dr. Kapoor lamented that only 20 percent of the population in Zambia has access to electricity with only three percent in rural areas.
He said there is need to increase accessibility as this will help to reduce poverty levels in the country.
[ZNBC]
This is what the EU pledged to do long ago. Good. to see they kept their promise. Please put the money to good use.
I won`t be losing my sleep! Unless I see amalaiti pashi Byalya.
Believe me , this money won’t work for the intended purpose, mind you nipa Zed pano.
I wonder what Dambisa Moyo would say about this.
Ilyashi ilyo bane”””, not to just put street lights in Lusaka awe, batile rural areas and peri urban. I just hope this money will be put to good use, or else we will be talking of a non starter issue. there is too much ubung’o in our Govt. thats a very good grant and amount for development. Who ever steals from the Govt coffers should be jailed for 100yrs like those accountants. Lets wait and see.
Good stuff. At least the tax I have been being over here in Germany is being used to benefit my home country. Please make good use of it Zambia.
Great stuff and thanks EU. On “The European Union- EU- has given Zambia a 420 billion Kwacha grant to improve access to electricity in rural and peri-urban areas”, is this free money of DEAD AID according to Dambisa Moyo (Dr, UK)?
Whatever the case, where are these “And Dr. Kapoor lamented that only 20 percent of the population in Zambia has access to electricity with only three percent in rural areas” statistics being sourced from? Which year were they conducted and where were they done from? I hope they are true and reliable.
Also, please, GRZ increase the livelihood money for all Zambian families.
Wake up people this not free money. What they are doing is promoting and marketing their goods and services. From this amount you will pay experts and buy goods from Europe, except, maybe)copper wire and eucalyptus poles. At the end of it you will pay the money backi with interest. From where I am sitting: If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it is a duck.
8) JIVE TALK greetings, while what you wrote might be carrying some truth, I am looking at this in terms of EUROPE RISING AGAINST CHINA’s efforts to take over market com=ntrol of Africa.
Just look at the ROAD NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE the British are sponsoring across Southern and Central Africa.
The issue here is that competition has become high and it is upto us Africans to take full advantage of this competition by Europe, USA and China for the African market. Sadly, our leaders are still busy fighting newspaper battles with the opposition Undereducate instead of looking at ways of maximising our benefit from this fight. Remember, someone said “when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers”. I hope this shall not be the case for our posterity. LATER.
twanwa again
i hope the money wont go in their pockets
I totally agree with 3, This whole thing or rural eletrification started with UNIP era, there used to Tax called Rural Electrifcation and Zesco used to be collector. Now we have Rural Electrification Authority (REA). There is a lot of funny things in the way Tenders are awarded to contractors and were yet to see how the current tender will be handled. Zesco will just dealy the project. Donors make funds available but the problem is how implementation is done. Looking at some World Bank funded projects before its the same story. Chingolo-Kansanshi Mine Powerline, Kansanshi-Lumwana Mine. Costs went up than originally planned but somehow pipo got way with it. The concept is okay but there is a tendency to take cuts out of the project hence difficult implementation. There are smarts Zesco guys