Government-run hospitals and clinics in both urban and rural areas will, in future, be equipped with solar systems to alleviate the challenges of power cuts and high costs involved in running generators.
This was revealed by the Minister for Energy and Power Development Fortune Chasi while speaking at Chitungwiza Central Hospital on Tuesday. He said:
The ministry intends to start installing solar systems which fall under a low-cost project at all state-medical centres in rural and urban areas to generate power.
Considering that we have an abundance of sunshine in the country, I think this is something that we are willing to look at and find ways of financing installations at all our clinics and hospitals.
Most medical facilities across the country depend on generators for power due to the ongoing load shedding being implemented by the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC).
However, the use of generators is not sustainable owing to high costs of fuel, which is not always available.