4,000 to get free electricity connection
Ms Grace Nakabiri, a ministry of Energy official, speaks to residents of Gayaza village in Masaka Municipality about the free power connection on Tuesday. Photo by ALI MAMBULE.
What you need to know:
Beneficiaries are those who live within a distance of five kilometres on either side of the power lines.
Masaka- More than 4,000 households in Masaka District are to be connected to hydroelectricity power free of charge.
According to the undersecretary in the Energy ministry, Mr Ronald Ssegawa, the project beneficiaries are those living within a distance of five kilometres on either side of power lines.
Mr Ssegawa said the project is intended to help those who cannot afford connection fees and buying poles. The residents of Wakiso, Mpigi, Kalungu and Bukomansimbi districts will also benefit.
“Under this project funded by the government in partnership with the World Bank, the beneficiaries will only wire their houses and government will meet all the other costs,” Mr Ssegawa told the beneficiaries in Masaka Municipality on Monday.
Under normal procedure, any one to get connected to electricity is required to pay at least Shs200,000 for those who stay near electricity poles, while those who require a pole pay at least Shs500,000.
“We expect those interested in utilising the opportunity to start wiring their houses now because we shall not wait for the high voltage power line from Kawanda to be built in order to do the connections,” said Ms Grace Nakabiri, an official from the Energy ministry.
Ms Nakabiri said the government was concerned that many people were living near electricity power lines but continued to use locally-made lighting sources because they did not have money to meet the connection costs.
The district chairperson, Mr Joseph Kalungi, advised residents to use the power to put up income generating projects that will help them fight poverty.
Residents are currently registering with their chairpersons to be enrolled for the project.
