Maravi

Zambia receives K274bn loan from Japan

COMMENT - This is what I mean when I say that nearly all the money gets stuck at the ministerial level. I want the ministry of Finance and National Planning to have electricity, but $48 million sounds like a lot of money to spend just on a ministry. That is two times the budget for the Ministry of Technology and Vocational Training.

Zambia receives K274bn loan from Japan
Written by Florence Bupe
Friday, March 27, 2009 6:04:05 AM

THE Japanese government has provided a K274 billion (approximately US $48 million) Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan to Zambia for the implementation of the Increased Access to Electricity Services Project.

The two governments yesterday signed an exchange of notes for the electrification project at the Ministry of Finance and National Planning in Lusaka.

During the signing ceremony, finance minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane said limited access to electricity services was a major factor undermining the pace and scope of rural development.

“The limited access to electricity services has been a major factor that has been undermining the pace and scope of rural development. This has hindered the growth of income generating activities and incapacitated government’s ability to provide public services in rural and peri- urban areas,” said Dr Musokotwane.

The Increased Access to Electricity Services Project is a five-year deliberate intervention embarked on by the government under the Rural Electrification Project to address the challenges hindering the smooth distribution of electricity in the country.

And Japanese charge d’affaires Toshihiko Horiuchi said access to electricity was a prerequisite to the eradication of poverty in Zambia.

“The government of Japan considers access to electricity as a critical prerequisite to the eradication of poverty in Zambia by stimulating economic and social development in rural areas,” he said.

Horiuchi explained that this was the first ODA loan provided to Zambia since 1992.

“The Japanese government has not extended an ODA loan to Zambia since 1992 because the Zambian government was suffering from heavy indebtedness. However, following Zambia’s attainment of the HIPC (Highly Indebted Poor Countries) point in 2005, we are now able to resume the provision of ODA loans to Zambia,” said Horiuchi.

Labels: DEBT, ELECTRIFICATION, JAPAN, MINISTRIES

posted by MrK @ 6:02 AM