Cabinet directs ZESCO to cut exports by 100MW for local use
It’s a good gesture that the Zambian cabinet has listened and has now directed ZESCO to recall half of the 200MW being currently exported as confirmed by information minister Cornelius Meeetwa.
It’s a good start, but as Zambian Business Times – ZBT, we raised 5 questions which we are of a considered view, if answered critically, , all the declared 200MW plus the undeclared amounts being exported can be re-channelled and used locally to save local businesses from total collapse.
Zambia had a power crisis, and you can not continue to handle it with kid gloves. Even as long term solutions are being implemented, short and immediate solutions are also needed to deal with the crisis and lessen the burden on the humble Zambian citizens.
Below are the 5 questions repeated for those who may have not seen them:
- Some have said export aggreements can not be altered to end power exports and concentrate on local needs . Do these so called sacrosanct export power supply aggreements have force majeure clauses? If not why not draw on international law precedence set even within the region? Have the responsible officers or the company secretary of ZESCO who missed out inserting the force majeure clause been held accountable?
- At the rate at which load shedding hours are increasing in Zambia, how many local businesses will collapse and die? Is the damage to local businesses and families less harmful as perceived by the government than the commercial interest in ending the exports to Namibia?
- Can Zesco or the Ministry of Energy release and make public their cost benefit analysis that has informed their economic decision to opt to continue with export at the expense of local supply? Allowing the decimation of local SME sector and their capital risks setting local businesses backwards by decades which may take another generation to recover
- There are some arguments that these power exports supply agreements have clauses that can-not be breached and Zambia is forced to continue exporting power even with a local crisis threatening total economic collapse, since ZESCO is a public company, why cant they make these agreements public, is there something to hide in these agreements?
- Last but not the least, have there been any attempts by ZESCO or the Ministry of Energy to engage in negotiations with Namibia to halt exports due to the great need at home, why are we under estimating the long term damage to the local economy if there is no cost benefit analysis shared??
Zambia has about 1.3 million SMEs or local businesses as confirmed by the latest BOZ/ ZAMSTATs report which rely on stable energy supply. This means that for an average family of 5 in Zambia, SMEs are livelihood to a population of over 6.5 million at the minimum of estimates.
You don’t need to have a PHD to understand that local needs come first, and that local damage will cut deeper. Zambia needs to have a conscious that should not sacrifice the destiny of 1.3 million SMEs and their families for a few greedy individuals that are benefiting for continued exports and sell of alternative energy products.-ZBT