Full electrification in the next two years tops Magufuli’s priorities

What you need to know:

Available statistics show that Tanzania has recorded its highest percentage in access to electricity so far with 84.6 per cent in 2020.

Dar es Salaam. Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) Presidential candidate John Magufuli on Tuesday, September 1, said he will quicken the electrification of the remaining 2,600 villages in Tanzania should he be elected president in the October polls.
The president said the remaining will be connected to national grid in two years.
Magufuli made the remarks when he addressed Manyoni residents on his way to Singida from Dodoma, accompanied by various CCM party cadres.
“There are many things to be done here in Manyoni. If I am elected President, I will make sure that all the pending roads, water and power projects are completed in the shortest possible time (residents) to have access to economic opportunities,” said Dr Magufuli.
According to President Magufuli, his government has already connected some 9, 570 villages to power in the past five years, saying before he took over the power, only 2, 018 out of 12, 228 total villages had access to electricity across the country.
The statistics further indicate that the number of villages with access to electricity rose to 9,112 in April 2020 from 2,018 in 2015.
The number of customers connected to the main grid also reached over 2.766 million, up from 1.473 million, an increase of 1.293 million new connections.
According to the Ministry of Energy, power generation in the country has also increased to 1,601.84 megawatts as of April 2020 from only 1,308MW in 2015.
The increase in power capacity is attributed to the completion of Kinyerezi I and II natural gas-powered station generating a combined capacity of 398.22MW.
While in Manyoni, President Magufuli gave the party’s Parliamentary aspirants Dr Pius Chaya (Manyoni East) and Mr Yahaya Massare (Manyoni West) the opportunity to express their aspirations to Manyoni residents.
Both aspirants pledged to address socio-economic challenges facing the residents by improving health, transport, water and power services.