DODOMA: Deputy Minister for Energy, Ms Salome Makamba, has launched the Clean Cooking Energy Club at Bunge Girls Secondary School in Dodoma, calling for the participation of various institutions, the media, and the entire community to advance the clean cooking agenda.
Speaking during the ceremony held recently at the government- and Bunge-financed school, Ms Makamba described the club as the first of its kind to be launched in Tanzania and expressed optimism that it would serve as a model for other schools across the country in promoting education on clean cooking energy.
“Students who join this club will become our Clean Cooking Energy Champions and will work closely with the Ministry of Energy and other stakeholders to provide education in schools, raise awareness in surrounding communities, and innovate clean cooking energy technologies that protect health and the environment,” she said.
For the programme to succeed, she urged citizens and the media to help spread the message so that it reaches all segments of society.
“Furthermore, I call upon other schools, all institutions, and the general public to emulate this example by adopting clean cooking energy in order to save lives and protect the environment,” the Deputy Minister emphasized.
She noted that there is still much work to be done, as out of more than 30,000 institutions that serve more than 100 people daily, only 1,136 are currently using clean cooking energy.
Ms Makamba called on private sector stakeholders to continue collaborating with the Government in advancing the agenda by facilitating access to various clean cooking energy options in peri-urban and rural areas.
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“The private sector should view this agenda as an opportunity and seize it,” she said.
She further urged stakeholders from the financial sector to develop financial services and products that support the wider adoption of clean cooking energy by empowering small-scale entrepreneurs in peri-urban and rural areas, as well as innovators developing clean cooking technologies.
Ms Makamba also called on liquefied gas distributors to increase the number of gas distribution and refilling centres to make access easier for a larger number of users.
In addition, she tasked innovators and young people in higher learning institutions with conducting research and developing tools and technologies that will help expand the agenda and reach more people.
Apart from unveiling the club, the Deputy Minister also officially launched the Clean Cooking Energy System at the school, citing collaboration between the public and private sectors as the key to the achievement.