MASERU — Prime Minister Mr Ntsokoane Matekane says M800 million will be used to support the Mission 300 initiative, which seeks to ensure that every household in Lesotho has access to electricity by 2030.

Speaking at the launch of the initiative, Mr Matekane said the project would cover eight districts, namely Thaba-Tseka, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Berea, Mafeteng, Quthing and Qacha’s Nek.

He said M648 million would be used to connect more than 26,000 households to the national electricity grid.

In addition, the Prime Minister said businesses, health facilities and other service providers would also benefit from the project, with M40 million allocated for their connection to electricity.

“M81 million will be used to cover 14,500 families in hard-to-reach areas through further electrification using solar systems,” he explained.

He said part of the funding would be allocated to the Lesotho Electricity Corporation (LEC), while the remainder would cover other costs associated with the project.

Mr Matekane pointed out that people had, for years, been longing for proper service delivery in terms of electrification, saying the lack of electricity in communities would come to an end as the projects were implemented.

Meanwhile, in an interview with the Agency, Acting Director of Energy and Mining, Mr ’Muso Raliselo, said the main purpose of Mission 300 was to ensure that by the end of 2030, every household in Lesotho would have access to electricity.

He explained that Mission 300 was an initiative aimed at assisting African countries to ensure that their citizens have access to electricity.

“Each country made national compacts following these developments. Lesotho was not an exception, and it made its own compact,” he elaborated.

He said the compacts were intended to outline how each country would ensure that its people gained access to electricity.

A Member of Parliament for Thaba-Tseka Constituency, Mrs ’Mamamello Holomo, expressed appreciation to the government for the electrification initiative, saying communities in Thaba-Tseka and the nation at large would benefit once the project commenced.

She said communities had, for decades, longed to have electricity in their homes, but this had not materialised.

Mrs Holomo appealed to the people of Thaba-Tseka to appreciate the developments brought by the government and not focus solely on those that had yet to be completed.

Meanwhile, 400 bags of maize and 133 bags of beans were distributed to residents attending the event, while 1,000 blankets were donated to community policing forums.