Cabinet approves measures to avert power crisis
CLOUDINE MATOLA
Cabinet has approved a raft of measures to prevent the economy from being devastated by a power crisis, Business Times can report.
The actions are being taken at a time when electricity consumers are enduring unscheduled load-shedding lasting up to 12 hours.
The move by the Government was revealed by the information minister Dr Jenfan Muswere.
“The structural challenges are being addressed by the Mutapa Investment Fund in a process involving bundling or merging of some entities under Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, (ZESA Holdings (Pvt) Ltd), as recommended by an independent consultant who was commissioned to undertake the task. This will result in a more simplified and efficient governance and management structure,” Dr Muswere said.
He added: “Supply-side interventions include rehabilitation of Hwange Units 1 to 6 under a Build, Operate and Transfer arrangement which is set to commence this year. The Mutapa Investment Fund is also putting in place measures to cater for the foreign currency requirements of Independent Power Producers.
“To address the low uptake of net-metering from solar-generated electricity, ZESA has been specifically directed to promote the facility and streamline the pertinent procedures and requirements in order to increase uptake. The loss of electricity during transmission is being attended to through the establishment of a joint venture between ZENT and QLV for the manufacture of cables, and in dealing with theft and corruption.”
Regarding the improvement of revenue collection, Dr. Muswere stated that ZESA has been directed to expedite the installation of prepaid meters in order to address debtors and increase income.
“To enhance revenue collection, ZESA has been directed to speed up installation of pre-paid meters in order to effectively deal with debtors, while the Mutapa Investment Fund is establishing a foreign exchange discount facility against the ZESA debtors’ book to meet the current creditors. Investment in research and development involving ZESA, ZENT and institutions of higher learning for the local manufacture of various parts of power generation and transmission equipment is being promoted,” he said.
He added that these measures will go a long way in enhancing ZESA’s capacity to deliver on its mandate of providing power to the nation.
