NEWS that all chiefdoms will be connected to the national grid before the end of this year is very good for Zambians in the country-side.
According to Rural Electrification Authority (REA) chief executive officer Linus Chanda, the chiefdoms which will not be connected to Zesco lines will access electricity through solar mini-grids.
This is progressive because electrification of rural areas, where communities grapple with poverty and inequality, can have a transformative effect on economic standing, health, education, poverty and inequity.
Electrification is an essential tool in improving people’s livelihoods as it creates and expands economic activities and social services.
The overall development trajectory of the country is fast-tracked when there is a wide coverage of electricity services because power facilitates a broad range of economic undertakings.
With electricity, civil servants such as health workers, teachers, agricultural extension specialists and veterinarians who are sent to go and serve rural communities do not hesitate to take up the assignments.
This is because they will be able to stay in houses with electricity, and they will have refrigeration facilities and television, among others, which are associated with urban life.
With stable supply of electricity, people in rural areas will be able to engage in myriad entrepreneurial endeavours such as carpentry, welding, running barbershops and restaurants, which will improve their living standards.
When this happens, such people will find no need to go and live in cities and towns thereby addressing the problem of rural-urban migration, which unnecessarily congests municipal areas.
Electrification supports development of human activities, and its stable supply is paramount in improving the economy of people and, in that way, accomplishing the Sustainable Development Goals.
Rural electrification is one of the most essential strategies for accelerating economic growth, social development, and life-styles of people in villages.
It improves rural communities’ security, trade, healthcare delivery, housing and infrastructure, agricultural operations, as well as industrial development.
Rural electrification increases the use of electric appliances and creates new job options.
It also surges rural learners’ habit of studying at night and enhances environmental conservation by replacing kerosene and firewood with electricity.
Access to electricity increases study hours for communities, leading to improved educational attainment, higher earnings, and reduction in poverty in the long run.
In addition, electrification of rural areas reduces respiratory diseases as people shift from using kerosene, charcoal and firewood to electricity for domestic purposes.
There are many potential channels through which rural electrification can have an impact on the income and welfare of households. Access to electricity enables modernisation of agriculture, for instance, the use of electric pumps for irrigation, and the re-allocation of working hours, which can raise earnings and improve people’s welfare.
Modernisation of agriculture and extended business hours can provide increased employment opportunities to electrified communities, which can enhance welfare.
Also, access to electricity improves earnings of relatively high-income households more than low-income families. This result implies that electricity access improves the gross income of all households, irrespective of the initial level of income at the time they are exposed to electricity.
Therefore, the target by REA to connect all chiefdoms to the national grid before the end of next month is commendable.
We can only urge REA to remain focused so that it attains this ambitious and economically-beneficial yardstick.
Rural electrification economic booster
NEWS that all chiefdoms will be connected to the national grid before the end of this year is very good for Zambians in the country-side.
According to Rural Electrification Authority (REA) chief executive officer Linus Chanda, the chiefdoms which will not be connected to Zesco lines will access electricity through solar mini-grids.
This is progressive because electrification of rural areas, where communities grapple with poverty and inequality, can have a transformative effect on economic standing, health, education, poverty and inequity.
Electrification is an essential tool in improving people’s livelihoods as it creates and expands economic activities and social services.
The overall development trajectory of the country is fast-tracked when there is a wide coverage of electricity services because power facilitates a broad range of economic undertakings.
With electricity, civil servants such as health workers, teachers, agricultural extension specialists and veterinarians who are sent to go and serve rural communities do not hesitate to take up the assignments.
This is because they will be able to stay in houses with electricity, and they will have refrigeration facilities and television, among others, which are associated with urban life.
With stable supply of electricity, people in rural areas will be able to engage in myriad entrepreneurial endeavours such as carpentry, welding, running barbershops and restaurants, which will improve their living standards.
When this happens, such people will find no need to go and live in cities and towns thereby addressing the problem of rural-urban migration, which unnecessarily congests municipal areas.
Electrification supports development of human activities, and its stable supply is paramount in improving the economy of people and, in that way, accomplishing the Sustainable Development Goals.
Rural electrification is one of the most essential strategies for accelerating economic growth, social development, and life-styles of people in villages.
It improves rural communities’ security, trade, healthcare delivery, housing and infrastructure, agricultural operations, as well as industrial development.
Rural electrification increases the use of electric appliances and creates new job options.
It also surges rural learners’ habit of studying at night and enhances environmental conservation by replacing kerosene and firewood with electricity.
Access to electricity increases study hours for communities, leading to improved educational attainment, higher earnings, and reduction in poverty in the long run.
In addition, electrification of rural areas reduces respiratory diseases as people shift from using kerosene, charcoal and firewood to electricity for domestic purposes.
There are many potential channels through which rural electrification can have an impact on the income and welfare of households. Access to electricity enables modernisation of agriculture, for instance, the use of electric pumps for irrigation, and the re-allocation of working hours, which can raise earnings and improve people’s welfare.
Modernisation of agriculture and extended business hours can provide increased employment opportunities to electrified communities, which can enhance welfare.
Also, access to electricity improves earnings of relatively high-income households more than low-income families. This result implies that electricity access improves the gross income of all households, irrespective of the initial level of income at the time they are exposed to electricity.
Therefore, the target by REA to connect all chiefdoms to the national grid before the end of next month is commendable.
We can only urge REA to remain focused so that it attains this ambitious and economically-beneficial yardstick.