Women, girl child first: Minister

Ashley Mujoma

ENERGY and Power Development Minister, Soda Zhemu, said the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Zimbabwe Fund will consider women and the girl child first.

He said they were the ones who were mainly affected by power cuts in the country.

Speaking at the launch of the (SDGs) in Zimbabwe Fund and stakeholders’ engagement, at a local hotel yesterday, Minister Zhemu said most girls fetch firewood for cooking and heating.

“Girls and their mothers are exposed to unclean forms of energy in addition to spending considerable time fetching firewood and water.

“On a very important social dimension, the girl child remains key in initiatives as we seek to level the playing field for both boys and girls,” said the Minister.

He said US$45 million will assist to address the challenges faced by girls and women in Zimbabwe.

“The UNSDG Fund will assist to address some of these challenges through funding of holistic renewable energy projects.

“I also believe that it is high time we begin to see rapid deployment of distributed renewable energy technologies in our homes to improve communication, modern technology assisted learning, modern entertainment, better lighting, cleaner cooking and heating, among other applications.

“The purpose of this four-year joint programme is to accelerate investments in climate change, mitigation and sustainable energy projects for the achievement of SDGs in Zimbabwe, and to maximise the development of local economic spin-off initiatives that can obtain as a result of access to renewable energy and ICTs.”