23 Oct 2024

The 30 kilovolt (KVA) solar power station that Chinese company Huawei Technologies has donated to Zutshwa has set the village’s community on course to move along with the wider society as Botswana inches closer to the attainment of Vision 2036 aspirations.

The power station, received on behalf of Zutshwa community by President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, who simultaneously performed its official opening on October 23, will not only transform the landscape of the village on the development front but will also revolutionise the delivery of the school curriculum at the local primary school.

President Masisi said the project had enabled the linking up of Zutshwa’s Letswai Primary School to Morula Primary School in Gaborone, creating a contemporary e-learning environment that allowed for pupils of the two schools to share in on each other’s learning experiences.

“Linking up the two schools digitally exposes learners of either school to the learning experiences of the other, opening up opportunities for them to have a deeper and more enriching educational experience,” Dr Masisi said.

Rooting for a more encompassing digital experience for the communities, he encouraged the authorities of both Letswai and Morula schools to take parents aboard as they explored the world of digitalisation.

He urged them to consider linking up meetings of the respective schools’ Parents and Teachers Associations, an act that would allow the schools to deepen the level at which they interacted.

Dr Masisi said extensively exploring the manner in which the digital technology that came with the construction of the power station in Zutshwa would spur on efforts to transform Botswana into a knowledge society, one vehicle that he said would make it possible to build an economy that left no Motswana behind.

President Masisi said the solar electrification of Zutshwa was in tandem with Botswana’s efforts to realise Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4, 7 and 9 on lifelong, inclusive quality education, affordable and clean energy and industry innovation and infrastructure, respectively.

Chinese Ambassador to Botswana, Mr Fan Yong said the project, dubbed Zutshwa Smart Village, was a sign of the good that had come from the strong relations that Botswana and China enjoyed. Mr Yong said his homeland was committed to walking with Botswana on her digital innovation and green energy journey, rendering support that would enable the former to successfully bridge the digital as well as the rural-urban divide.

“China will remain open and committed to forging many partnerships in key areas for the future development of Botswana,” he said, sharing his country’s commitment to helping Botswana advance modernisation, thereby bringing tangible benefits to its people.

Chief executive officer of Huawei Southern Africa, Mr Phil Lin said the Zutshwa smart village was a milestone for Botswana’s rural connectivity and sustainable development agenda. Mr Lin said the project, which entailed the electrification of the village, which in turn enabled the provision of smart education through broadband connectivity had put at the fingertips of the rural learner the same opportunities that their counterpart in urban areas was exposed to. He said the project also reinforced Botswana’s commitment to tagging along with the rest of the global community in embracing the harnessing and use of clean energy.

Minister Lefoko Moagi of Minerals and Energy said government would soon expand the 30KVA power plant by about 200KVA to allow for the reticulation of electricity to the rest of the village as the power station’s current capacity could not support electricity supply to the entire village.

Mr Moagi further shared that government had set a target to have electrified all villages that were currently without electricity by 2030. Kgosi Abathine Kabatlhophane of Zutshwa hailed the solar station project, saying the street lighting that the project had come with would help curb crime, thereby enhancing the safety of residents.

Public facilities in the village being the kgotla, school, clinic, and staff quarters including Village Development Committee houses had been connected to the 30KVA plant, igniting hope that the remainder of the village would be electrified soon. ENDS