Abstract:
In the year 2002, the Zimbabwean government adopted a Rural Electrification Programme (REP) as a developmental strategy designed to improve villagers’ lives. Despite the government’s noble initiative to improve rural areas’ access to electricity, not much is known about the REP’s socio-economic benefits to grassroots communities in the country. Thus, a study was carried out to determine the REP’s socio-economic benefits accruing to villagers in Insiza South District located in Matabeleland South Province of Zimbabwe. Appreciative inquiry was undertaken following a mixed method approach. Data were collected through two sequentially integrated phases. Multistage sampling was applied to select respondents from 15 villages within three administrative wards 5, 7 and 12 of Insiza South District. Out of the 110 respondents who participated in the study, the eight key informants who participated in the first phase were drawn from the institutions that coordinated the REP. One hundred and two residents participated in phase two of data collection carried out through application of focus group discussions (FGDs). Thematic content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data collected in phase 1 of the study. Quantitative data was analysed using the International Business Machines, Statistical Product and Service Solution (IBM, SPSS) version 24 for Windows. More than 68 % of the respondents perceived basic uses (lighting, cooking, and for educational purposes) of electricity as the benefits accruing from the REP. Sixty six percent of respondents viewed modern uses (heating, cooling and air conditioning) of electricity as the benefits accruing from the programme. A much smaller proportion (31 %) of villagers singled out the benefits of electrification to be productive uses such as boiler making, manufacturing and mechanised farming. There were highly significant differences in perception among residents of the wards with respect to basic (P < 0.001) and modern (P < 0.01) uses. However, there were no differences in perception among male and female members of the three wards (P < 0.05). The collective community benefits included improved access to information, enhanced retention and attraction of teachers in rural areas, introduction of computer studies in schools and initiation of entrepreneurial projects such as welding and milling. Residents also benefitted indirectly from the REP through local electrified service centres. It was revealed that almost 91 % the local villagers were still using firewood while about 59 % of the villagers who could afford it had access to solar power. The study highlighted the need for a platform to deliberate on challenges relating to RE and its contribution to economy. The findings are crucial for rural development, policy reviews and academic research.
