- The Islamist terrorists who have been plaguing parts of the northern Mozambican district of Cabo Delgado are making it difficult to meet the government’s rural electrification target, which is to have 100% energy access by 2030.
According to Alexandra Links, General Manager of the intercontinental company Engie Energy Access, which is involved in the rural electrification project using solar power, terrorism has prevented her company from expanding services to Cabo Delgado. He was speaking at the 5th anniversary of ENGIE Energy Access (Africa)’s operations in Mozambique held in Maputo last Friday.
“We have been operating in the country since 2019, and we are present in more than 50 districts of the country and in all of Mozambique’s provinces, except for Cabo Delgado. We pay a lot of attention to safety issues”, she said.
Links, cited in Monday’s issue of the independent newsheet “Carta de Moçambique”, explained that the other problems hindering electrification targets is the scattered nature of the rural population, the inability of rural communities to pay for services, the lack of fiscal incentives and the limited telecommunications infrastructure to support the mobile money payment model.
According to Links, since 2019, Engie Energy Access has invested more than 20 million US dollars across the country, reaching more than 230,000 families, corresponding to about 1.2 million people, mainly farmers and small businesses. The company employs more than 200 full-time professionals in sales, marketing, customer service, product diagnostics and logistics.
“Our vision is to prioritize rural electrification and fulfill the goal of universal access to energy. This journey has not been easy, but it has been incredibly rewarding. We are a leading player in the Mozambican solar market, providing affordable, reliable and sustainable energy solutions for homes, businesses and infrastructures”, she said.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
