Maputo- All citizens of the southern African country of Mozambique should have access to electricity within seven years, the head of the national electricity utility Electricidade de Mocambique (EDM) said Tuesday.

EDM chief executive Manuel Cuambe said the utility hoped to finish linking all the country's 128 districts to the national grid by 2015 but that the success of the project would depend on the availability of financing.

Cuambe said EDM had invested some 400 million dollars to electrify the vast former Portuguese colony, whose infrastructural development was retarded by a devastating civil war between 1976 and 1992.

Currently, only 8 per cent of the population, or 1.7 million out of 21 million Mozambicans have electricity, according to EDM.

By the end of this year, 71 districts should have power, Cuambe said.

Cuambe said equipment theft was hampering the electrification process. As cables are stolen EDM was having to divert money meant for new power lines into replacing old ones, he said.

EDM last year turned out an operating profit of 4.4 billion meticais (182 million dollars), a dramatic turnaround following losses of more than 70 billion meticais the previous year. (dpa)