Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Power Development Eng Gloria Magombo
By Dickson Bandera
Bulawayo, April 22, 2025 — The Ministry of Energy and Power Development has revealed that a total of US $16 billion is required to achieve universal electricity access by 2030—a critical catalyst for Zimbabwe’s rural industrialisation.
Speaking at the Rural Industrialisation Indaba during the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Power Development Eng. Gloria Magombo laid out a US $16 billion financing requirement a cornerstone, she said, for catalyzing industrial growth in rural communities.
Dr. Magombo emphasized that this funding envelope is not optional but essential to transform Zimbabwe’s energy landscape and underpin the next phase of rural industrialisation:
US $11 Billion for Generation Capacity
To harness the country’s rivers, coal deposits and abundant solar and wind resources, the ministry needs to build large‑scale hydropower schemes, utility‑scale solar parks, wind farms and small hydro installations.
US $3 Billion for Transmission & Distribution
Expanding high‑voltage lines into every district, densifying the network around schools, clinics and business hubs, and financing last‑mile household connections, will ensure that no community remains off‑grid.
US $2 Billion for Off‑Grid & Mini‑Grid Solutions
Deploying solar‑storage home kits, biogas digesters and community‑managed mini‑grids—each anchored on productive loads such as irrigation pumps, grinding mills and sawmills—will drive value‑added activity in outlying areas.
“Universal access to modern energy by 2030 is the foundation upon which rural industries will rise,” Dr. Magombo told delegates. She noted that mini‑grids configured around productive assets will turn local resources into small‑scale factories—creating jobs, stimulating local supply chains and adding value close to the source.
Through the existing Rural Electrification Fund, the ministry already subsidizes 100 percent of capital costs for clinics, schools and other public institutions, and 50 percent for community‑led network extensions and biogas projects.
Yet, Dr. Magombo warned, bridging the remaining financing gap will demand a concerted mix of public funds, private‑sector investment and development‑partner support.
“Every dollar mobilized through this US $16 billion package will ripple across the rural economy,” she said, calling on impact investors, development finance institutions and regional partners at ZITF to join the effort.
Feasibility studies for over 100 privately sponsored mini‑grids are already under way, and the flagship Presidential Solar System aims to outfit 1.2 million off‑grid households with solar‑storage kits.
If fully financed, the ministry’s plan will not only light homes and power clinics and schools—it will power the next wave of rural industrialisation, turning Zimbabwe’s countryside into a network of thriving economic centres well before the 2030 deadline.
