NEWSLINE

Zambia has revised its target to attaining  51-percent Universal Rural Electrification, implying  that the  target must be reached in  2026 and not the initial 2030.   Zambia's electricity access rate in rural areas currently stands at 5-percent.   The Rural Electrification Authority-REA, an institution tasked to undertake this assignment is leaving no stone unturned by applying all efforts to ensure the target is attained and that no rural parts of the country are left behind in as far as access to electricity is concerned. REA's Master plan for rural Electrification which has set ambitious targets for increasing access to electricity ,has identified 1,217 rural growth centers throughout the country. In order to speed up the task bestowed upon it , REA has established partnerships with the local authorities countrywide as a vehicle for  delivering electricity to the doorstep of rural citizens,  through signing of Memorandum of Understandings-MOUs with them. Each constituency i

The Tobacco Control Campaigners this morning [ Friday 10 November 2023] took to the streets, protesting the government's prolonged delay in passing   into law  the much talked about Tobacco Control Bill. The protesters carrying placards questioned the Ministry of Health's hesitancy in executing the Presidential directive to present the Bill to Parliament. The peaceful protest was staged in the Capital city Lusaka along Parliament Road, strategically aiming to capture the attention of Members of Parliament, specifically Minister of Justice Mulambo Haimbe and Health Minister Sylvia Masebo. Speaking in an interview during the protest, Centre for Trade Policy and Development-CTPD Communications Specialist, Mwaka Nyimbili, expressed disappointment with the lack of progress in the enactment process of the Bill.  Ms Nyimbili highlighted that the government's delay in passing the bill has allowed the tobacco industry to thrive at the expense of citizens' lives.  "The Tobac