Minister pledges end to power cuts in Zimbabwe
HARARE – The Minister of Energy and Power Development, Elton Mangoma has said the power utility Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) has started a rehabilitation programme that will put a stop to load shedding.
Mangoma commended Zimbabweans for their resilience and patience with the current erratic supplies of electricity and said it will soon be a thing of the past. The unreliable electricity supplies have caused massive business downtime, damaged electrical goods and inconvenienced family life and industrial operations.
“The authority has instituted a raft of measures to mitigate the effects of the prolonged load shedding regimen, caused – in the main – by serious resource constraints and ageing equipment,” said Mangoma.
The nation’s power supply lifelines at Hwange, Munyati and Kariba are being revived to resume generation to full capacity as the government sources new equipment in a move designed to make electricity affordable to all within the shortest period of time, he said.
Mangoma said these measures include a far-reaching re-tooling programme of the generation capacity of ageing plant and equipment at Kariba; the offloading and placement of the Harare Power Station onto the open market for private energy investors; the introduction of pre-paid electricity meters as an energy conservation measure; and a rigorous marketing and persuasive crusade to implore on defaulters to meet their payment obligations.
“Government departments, the private sector and ordinary consumers owe Zesa in excess of US$400 million – an amount, if recouped today, could see Zesa breathe a new lease of life into its operations and refurbishment agenda.
“If that happens, Zimbabwe will overcome the now perennial irritation from power outages,” he said. Mangoma, who is also the deputy Treasurer–General in the MDC and Makoni North MP, was quick to highlight the challenges ahead.
“While it is true that Zesa has yet to come out of the woods and fulfill its statutory obligations in line with national expectations, the challenges that the parastatal inherited are daunting but not insurmountable.
Asked about the US$2million golden handshake that Zesa was reportedly giving to outgoing Zesa chief executive, Engineer Ben Rafemoyo, Mangoma said his demands had been out rightly rejected.
“As part of Zesa’s turnaround plan that puts people first as a priority, it became imperative that the board consults with the former chief executive, Engineer Ben Rafemoyo, about the future,”
Mangoma told The Real Change Times.
“Eng. Rafemoyo advised the board of his desire for early retirement to pave the way for a fresh impetus and new initiative to enable Zesa to raise the pace and availability of electricity to the nation. In line with international best practices and sound corporate governance principles, discussions of such a nature revolve around a work ethic that demands respect for confidentiality and the privacy of a departing executive,” he said.
But, added Mangoma, as the minister supervising Zesa; “there is absolutely no way Zesa or any other parastatal under the ministry, could afford such a hefty package of US$2 million for a single, departing executive”.
