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Herald Correspondent
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has electrified over 4 000 primary and secondary schools across Zimbabwe as it steps up efforts to ensure access to reliable and sustainable energy for all.

Government, through Zim-Asset, aims to light up every remote institution in rural Zimbabwe including business centres, healthcare centres, small-scale farms and villages by 2018.

In a recent interview, REA public relations and marketing manager Mr Johannes Nyamayedenga said electrification of schools was a priority.

“So far we have electrified 2 418 primary schools and 1 277 secondary schools since the beginning of the project,” he said.

“We are currently working on 50 more primary and 19 secondary schools that should be completed soon.” This is about three-quarters of what was required by 2018.

A total of 2 512 primary schools and 746 secondary schools were yet to be electrified.

Mr Nyamayedenga said health systems in rural Zimbabwe were slowly improving.

“We have electrified 837 rural health centres with 16 more to be completed soon whilst a balance of 217 centres will be completed in due course; so far 378 Government extension offices were also lit up whilst 230 chiefs’ homesteads were connected to the grid and solar power,” he said.

He said irrigation farming had greatly improved in communal lands across the country as several villages and farming communities received electricity.