Dodoma. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Dr Doto Biteko, has directed key institutions under the ministry of Energy to intensify efforts in promoting clean cooking energy, in line with President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s vision of transitioning Tanzanians away from traditional cooking fuels.
The institutions that received the directive were the Rural Energy Agency (REA), the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), and the Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (Tanesco).
Dr Biteko issued the directive during the fourth performance evaluation meeting of the ministry and its institutions on June 4 where he lauded the sector for attaining a performance improvement exceeding 95 percent in the third quarter of the 2024/25 financial year.
He emphasised that the clean cooking energy agenda must be driven collectively by all agencies under the ministry in order to accelerate the uptake of modern and environmentally friendly cooking solutions by households across the country.
“This agenda is critical. It requires coordination and commitment from REA, TPDC and Tanesco so that it matures, expands, and ultimately delivers on the President’s goal of shifting our people from the use of unclean energy sources to clean alternatives,” said Dr Biteko.
Dr Biteko attributed the impressive performance ratings to the commitment and consistency of staff within the ministry and its institutions, observing that the energy sector was delivering tangible benefits to citizens.
“The energy sector is both a service sector and a key economic sector. Any laxity here translates directly into public dissatisfaction. That’s why I commend the progress, and I expect the positive trajectory to continue,” Dr Biteko told participants at the meeting.
He directed Tanesco to sustain its pace in rehabilitating the country’s electricity infrastructure and continue exploring new sources of power generation to meet growing demand and improve reliability of supply.
The Rural Energy Agency (REA) was commended for its accelerated pace in rolling out electricity access to rural villages and, increasingly, to sub-villages—an effort the Minister described as pivotal in transforming rural livelihoods and narrowing the energy access gap.
On institutional oversight, Dr Biteko praised the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit within the Ministry for its diligence in assessing performance.
He urged that the evaluation exercise be made routine and sustainable, given its critical role in enhancing accountability and productivity.
“This unit has done an excellent job. But we must ensure that evaluation becomes an ongoing process. It is only through constant self-assessment that we can improve and align with national targets,” he said.
The performance evaluation meeting brought together heads of agencies, technical staff and key stakeholders within the energy sector to review implementation progress, identify bottlenecks, and chart the way forward for enhanced service delivery.
