Since its implantation in 2003, the Light for All Program in Brazil has created around 53,000 new jobs, according to a survey by the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
According to the national director of the program, Aurélio Pavão de Farias, the creation of jobs is the result of the economic impact of the program, which has made electricity connections possible for 40 thousand houses per month.
Despite these positive results, the program is still far from its real goal. By 2008 the Light for All Program expects to spend US$ 4.07 (9.5 billion reais), US$ 2.91 billion (6.8 billion reais) of which will be applied directly by the federal government. The rest will come from state governments and private electricity companies.
The program may generate a total of 300 thousand direct and indirect jobs and extend electric power to 10 million rural residents, if the 2008 goal is achieved.
But, according to data from the Ministry, the federal government has only spent US$ 267 million of the US$ 1.1 billion (2.6 billion reais) set aside for the program.
The reason for this, according to the program’s press secretariat, is that the companies only receive payment after it is determined that the new connections were installed.
The program has already reached 1.3 million people in the countryside, approximately 375 thousand families. Another 625 thousand are on the waiting line
Agência Brasil
