NBD calls for more electricity in rural areas

Nile Basin Discourse (NBD), a regional civil society organization that advocates for clean energy mainstreaming and cooperation of communities in ten countries, has urged the government to extend electricity to more rural areas if the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are to be achieved. The call was made by Emmanuel Rugumire Makuza, Advocacy Officer for NBD in charge of The Great Lakes region. He was speaking at the NBD forum where stakeholders gathered to discuss clean energy in relation to climate change in the country and in the Kagera River basin. Makuza noted that compared to other countries in the region, Rwanda has tried to extend electricity in rural areas adding that more effort is needed to cover the areas that have not yet received the electricity. “The government has done great in ensuring accessibility of power in the country especially in rural areas compared to other countries in the region, however it’s not enough, it needs to cover the whole country for the people to transform their lives” he said in interview with Sunday Times. According to current statistics, electricity accessibility has increased from 5 percent in 2008 to 12 percent, while in Burundi, only 4 percent have power and in DRC ,2 percent. He observed that most countries in the world have achieved the MDGs because they extended electricity to all their citizens. Rugumire noted that it is the same method that the country needs to embark on. “All these MDGS that we talk about cannot be achieved if we don’t have electricity. Rwanda has multiplied rural electricity access, but still there is much to be done to ensure that it achieves all the MDGS.” James Sano, Water and Sanitation Coordinator in the Ministry of Infrastructure, pointed out that the government has put in place more mechanisms of ensuring that nationals access electricity. “Nobody can ignore the importance of electricity for sustainable development” said Sano. He added that the government is putting up alternatives ways of electricity production so as to diversify and for the sake of sustainability towards clean energy. Nile Basin Discourse covers Rwanda, DRC, Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Egypt Kenya, Sudan and Uganda. Ends