Supporting Increased Access to Electricity
Photo: CARE, Evelyn Hockstein
The Angolan people and their Government are very quickly recovering from the country's long civil war and working hard to build the national capacity essential to broad-based economic growth and participatory democracy. Recognizing the positive change that is taking place, the United States Agency for International Development has shifted the focus of its programs away from humanitarian assistance and towards a collaborative assistance relationship that seeks to:
- reinforce Angolan efforts to improve people's lives through increased economic opportunity and improved social service delivery
- help Angolans make the systemic reforms that will lock Angola onto a path of stability and wide-spread prosperity
To support the objectives noted above, USAID, together with its partner, Banco de Fomento Angola (BFA), and in collaboration with the Empresa de Distribuição de Electricidade (EDEL), will promote increased access to electricity in the Kilamba Kiaxi and Viana Municipalities of Luanda.
The Context for the Program
With vast stores of petroleum and a huge capacity for generating hydro-electric power, Angola is one of the most energy-rich countries in the world. Unfortunately, the long civil war left the country unable to fully take advantage of its energy resources. Many areas of the country are without electricity and, where electricity is available, services are intermittent and unreliable.
The Government of Angola is undertaking an ambitious effort to reverse today's situation as rapidly as possible. It is rehabilitating and expanding electricity generation, transmission and distribution systems and building technical and managerial capacity. One of the agencies at the forefront of the effort to bring improved electricity access to the Angolan people is EDEL.
Description of the Electricity Access Program
USAID's program will focus on improving access to electricity in the municipalities of Kilamba Kiaxi and Viana. It will:
- Support a micro-finance scheme, prepaid meters, and other mechanisms to make electricity more affordable for the residents of the two municipalities;
- Facilitate participatory planning processes, involving EDEL, municipal officials and the people of Kilamba Kiaxi, in making decisions related to electricity service; and,
- Promote the use of electricity for business expansion and improved service delivery.
To complement the work in Kilamba Kiaxi and Viana, USAID will also support a partnership between EDEL and a Brazilian utility, COELBA, with the purpose of the partnership being to allow the two utilities to share lessons learned and further strengthen community outreach activities.
By the end of the program, we hope to see, among other achievements, more residents connected to the electrical network; more health clinics and schools with access to reliable electricity; greater household income and business profitability; and strong, active, and constructive relationships between communities, their governments and electricity service providers.
Program Partnerships
USAID is extremely privileged to have Banco de Fomento Angola as a funding partner in the program. This is one of several programs with USAID as well as others organizations that BFA supports as part of its generous corporate commitment to donate 5 percent of its profits a year, from 2004 through 2008, to social program in Angola.
In undertaking the program, BFA and USAID are fortunate to be able to build on the successful work of other organizations, including the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) and the highly regarded Kilamba Kiaxi Forum.
Program partners share a common belief in the power of electricity to spur economic development. Electricity helps businesses to expand. It brings light and modern technologies to schools. It runs life-saving equipment at hospitals and clinics. It enhances our security by energizing street lights. And, through allowing televisions and computers into our homes, it brings the news and other information that promotes an engaged citizenry.
The Electricity Access Program has just recently got underway. It will be implemented by the Academy for Educational Development, CARE, and the U.S. Energy Association.
USAID's Global Development Alliance: A New Way of Doing Business
The Global Development Alliance - USAID's new way of doing business - is based on the recognition that significant changes in the environment of economic development assistance are occurring. No longer are traditional donor governments and multilateral development banks the only providers of assistance. Rather, over the past 20 years, there has been a growing number of new actors on the scene: foundations, corporations, and even individuals. Under its Global Development Alliance model, USAID seeks to facilitate linkages between its own programs and the programs of these new and, increasingly important, new actors, in order to strengthen the overall effectiveness of development efforts.
Learn more about the Global Development Alliance model. Browse our website. You can find it at www.usaid.gov/our_work/global_partnerships/gda/.
