19 Aug 2024

A total of 447 out of 565 gazetted villages have been connected to the electricity national grid by the end of the eleventh National Development Plan (NDP 11).

Answering a question in Parliament recently, Minister of Minerals and Energy, Honourable Lefoko Moagi said plans were underway to connect an additional 19 by the end of this month under the Transitional National Development Plan (TNDP) for the 2024/2025 financial year.

Minister Moagi added that, as part of the 112 villages Rural Electrification Project, the ministry intended to improve electricity infrastructure and extend services to Mokubilo, Mmatshumo, Xhumo, Lotlhakane East, Phutisutlha, Mohutsiwa and Gasita in the current fiscal year.

However, he noted that the electrification projects would be phased out, owing to ongoing allocations and developments, as well as resource constraints.

He said villages in Kanye North and South, which included Pitseng, Seherelela and Sesung, that were electrified during the 2018/2019 financial year, would be considered for further infrastructure development in subsequent phases.

Again, he said for such developments, Pitseng and Seherelela each required four transformers at a cost of P1.5 million and P1.2 million respectively, while three transformers worth P1 million were needed for Sesung.

He said since such villages were electrified during the 2018/2019 financial year and covered all developed plots, the current batch seeking electricity had been waiting for less than five years.

Furthermore, Minister Moagi noted that to date, the country had achieved 81.9 per cent village electrification, with the number expected to rise to 82.5 per cent by the end of August.

He said following the electrification of 20 new villages during the current financial year, it was further expected to reach 86 per cent.

He said since the distribution of resources was influenced availability and geographical challenges, villages located far from the grid, such as those in Kgalagadi South, Mabutsane, Letlhaken, Okavango and Boteti areas had been electrified at a lower rate due to high capital investment required.

However, he said they had been focusing on such areas over the past five years, hence 14 out of 20 new village electrification projects would be in those regions.

He also said they planned to increase access through the implementation of off-grid solutions as they move to NDP 12.

Kanye North MP, Mr Thapelo Letsholo had asked the minister to appraise Parliament on the state of electricity distribution in Botswana as well as progress and plans for electricity infrastructure, and electricity extension to the villages in Kanye North, Kanye South and Boteti East constituencies.

The MP also enquired about the number of transformers required in each village within those constituencies to fulfil the requisite electricity extension, as well as the budget necessary to address the need and shortage, and when the project was planned.

He further wanted to know the duration the residents of those villages had been waiting to access electricity, and what the minister’s perspective on the current distribution of electricity across Botswana, including whether he was satisfied with its status. Ends