Story by Wadzanai Mandima
THE Mabobolo community in Binga, Matabeleland North, has been connected to Zimbabwe’s national electricity grid, bringing power to schools, a clinic, and a business centre under the government’s accelerated Rural Electrification Programme.
The development is part of broader efforts to expand access to electricity in rural areas, a move officials say is central to achieving the country’s Vision 2030 objective of an upper-middle-income society.
For members of the community, the arrival of electricity marks a significant shift in daily life.
“I am happy with this development as teachers we no longer wish to transfer to towns and it has also raised our standard of living,” a teacher said.
“As a learner from this area, I am excited that we can now learn using computers since we now have electricity,” a student said.
“We are happy to have electricity at our clinic as we are now able to get assistance even at night,” a community member said.
REA Acting Chief Executive Officer, Felister Makumbinde, confirmed that Mabobolo’s electrification is part of a wider rollout in Matabeleland North.
“In this Province, we have electrified quite a big number of institutions. She gave statistics of the electrification project in the Province,” she said.
For the government, the electrification of rural areas marks a significant step towards the attainment of an upper-middle-income society status by 2030.
“The coming of electricity is in line with President Mnangagwa’s Vision 2030, which states that no one and no place will be left behind,” Principal Director, Office of the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Matabeleland North Province, Tapera Magoriya said.
Minister of Energy and Power Development, Honourable July Moyo, highlighted the broader development implications of the project.
“Electricity is the backbone of rural development. Its arrival in Mabobolo is aligned with the President’s vision of leaving no one and no place behind,” he said.
The electrification programme is in line with the government’s rural industrialisation drive, which seeks to create rural economies and transform lives under the inclusive development approach.
