Budget; Energy gets lion's share

Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Kenneth Matambo on Monday extended an olive branch to the struggling sector by allocating the highest development budget chunk of approximately P3.5 billion to the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources. The share constitutes 28.7 percent of the total 2010/2011 development budget.

Out of that amount, P1.4 billion has been channelled to the expansion of the Morupule "B" Power Station. Delivering the budget speech, Matambo alluded that universal access to energy and water has the potential to unlock the country's ability to engage in productive economic activities at grass root level.