By VALENTINE OFORO
FORMER President, Dr Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete has challenged the Rural Energy Agency (REA) to give first consideration towards the potential giant customers in the rolling out of the project for enhancing use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Natural Gas and Biogas across the country.
He said through the business-focused system, the Agency will manage to generate reasonable profit to enable it to run the project successfully and sustainably without depending on more funds from the State Coffer.
“I understand that the vision of this project is to centered to cater for the common Tanzanians, including those dwelling in rural areas, but it is prudent for you to start selling the clean cooking energy facilities to the well-to-do Tanzanians in order to fetch enough profit to help enabling you to penetrate and serve those in remote areas,” he advised.
The former President aired his advice when visiting the REA’s pavilion at the ongoing 48th Edition of the Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF), saying that the project was vital in improving the citizen’s livelihood status, but also protecting the environment.
“It is imperative for you to run this project with a sharp business- oriented mind, focusing to ensure the project generates enough money for funding itself and not relying on operating budgets from the central government,” he insisted.
He expressed optimism that if implemented constructively, the project will promote the use of alternative charcoal (safe charcoal) as a source of clean cooking energy, as well as protecting the environment across the country.
REA is implementing the task of ensuring that all types of energy are available in rural areas and for all people, and added that they have been at the forefront of assisting developers of clean energy technologies and projects aimed at increasing access to clean cooking energy products.
In the implementation of the countrywide project, REA is partnering with the State Mining Corporation (STAMICO), and has so far funded the purchase of three large machines for the production of charcoal.
The project has been allocated a budget of 5bn/- and REA is implementing the task of ensuring that all types of energy are available in rural areas and for all people through assisting developers of clean energy technologies and projects aimed at increasing access to clean cooking energy products.
During the last financial year, the government allocated 10bn/- for distribution of LPG and its burners, whereas to start with, each region was provided with 2,700 gas stoves, whereby at least3bn/- has been spent as a subsidy to facilitate distribution of 71,000 gas stoves in rural areas.
Moreover, during the financial year 2023/2024, the Agency distributed more than 158,100 cooking gas cylinders to rural citizens as part of the promotion of clean cooking energy, whereby a total of more than 400,000 cylinders will be distributed through the initiative.
The project is being by REA in collaboration with the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) and it involves installation of a distribution pipeline of 44.4 -kilometre from Mnazi Mmoja – Lindi -Mkuranga and Coast Region and more than 980 households will benefit from it.
The World Bank (WB) through the Results Based Financing (RBF) through REA has issued a 6-million US dollar grant for distribution of low energy cooking stoves using modern cooking technology.
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