Sierra Leone aims to provide electricity to all of its 6 million citizens by 2025 in a push to boost the economy, expand crucial services such as healthcare, and reduce dependency on aid, officials said on Wednesday.

 

Less than 12 percent of people in Sierra Leone's cities have access to electricity, while in rural areas, where most people live, the figure is less than 1 percent.

 

Under an initiative launched this week, Sierra Leone plans to bring solar power to all of the West African country's 149 chiefdoms within the next 18 months and deliver power to 1 million people by 2020.

 

The initiative with Britain's development aid ministry (DFID) is part of the UK Energy Africa campaign, which aims to help African countries reach a global development goal agreed by U.N. member states to ensure access to energy for all by 2030.

 

Lack of access to electricity is holding back economic development in many African countries. Only about a third of the population have access to electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa, and in some countries, like Zambia, only 5 percent of rural and 26 percent of the urban population have electricity.

 

The Sierra Leonean government also plans to eliminate import duties and Value Added Tax (VAT) on internationally certified renewable energy products. (Reuters)