At the still early dawn hours, before the cock’s crowing, a soft light springs to life in Mutoko rural village in Zimbabwe. It is no longer the paraffin lamp’s warm light or the candle’s weak light it’s the pure, stable light supplied by electricity brought into this community through the Rural Electrification Fund (REF). The majority of rural families in Zimbabwe, this is not just a modern luxury it’s a new beginning of potential, dignity, and acknowledgment.
Affordable, clean, sustainable, and modern energy is a cornerstone of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). It’s a goal that doesn’t just provide power, but empowerment. Zimbabwe’s government, through the visionary Rural Electrification Agency (REA), has made remarkable strides in aligning national priorities with global development goals. Since the inception of REF in 2002, thousands of schools, clinics, business centers, and households in previously neglected rural areas have been lit up both literally and figuratively.
In Chipinge District, for instance, the provision of electricity to St. Theresa Rural Clinic has significantly enhanced maternal health. What previously involved the use of torches to assist in childbirth at night now features bright lights, powered fridges for vaccines, and other critical medical equipment that operates continuously. It’s a simple but strong change that saves lives each day.
In Lupane, Matabeleland North, REF deployed solar mini-grids, providing clean energy to schools and surrounding homesteads. The children are able to study in the evening, and teachers use computers to enrich instruction. Parents also commenced small businesses powered by electricity—grinding mills, welding shops, and mobile phone charging points boosting rural economic growth.
Along with lighting up homes, the REF program is lighting up dreams. In Gokwe, Tariro, a young woman, started a hairdressing business because of electricity access in her village. “I would hike 12 kilometers to town to charge my phone,” she smiles. “Now I have a business supporting my family. I even have two staff” this is the face of energy access.
The Zimbabwean government merits hearty applause for continuing this revolutionary program. It is in a nation plagued by many economic and infrastructural issues that ongoing investment in rural electrification is both ambitious and humane. It illustrates a commitment not just to development, but to equity enfranchising rural citizens in the comforts of modern progress.
In particular, the Rural Electrification Fund has also embraced renewable energy as a long-term strategy, especially for off-grid communities. Solar energy systems are transforming lives, allowing Zimbabwe to reduce its carbon footprint while continuing to optimize growth.
While challenges remain such as maintaining infrastructure, expanding coverage, and ensuring affordability momentum cannot be avoided. Private sector collaboration, community ownership plans, and greater application of green technology might make the REF’s role even quicker.
Electricity is not poles and wires—it’s power to learn, to heal, to grow, and to dream, and by the Rural Electrification Fund, thousands of Zimbabweans are no longer kept in the dark.
As the country walks towards attaining SDG7 in 2030, every connected school, every powered clinic, and every lit home is a victory not only for Zimbabwe—but for humanity.
Let there be light—and let it illuminate all.
By: Jasper Mangwana
About the Author: Jasper Tinotenda Mangwana a student at Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University, Studying Development Studies. He is passionate about development and dedicated in positive change.