By Kombe Mataka
ZESCO senior corporate affairs manager John Kunda says what will now determine the priceof connecting electricity will be the evaluation of one’s residence.
Speaking when he was hosted on Hot FM’s breakfast show, Dr Kunda said electricity does not fall from heaven like manna.
“Electricity does not fall from heaven like manna or quails. A hydropower plant is K2.4 billion for 750 megawatts. You have lines to transmit that power. You are looking at thousands of kilometres of lines, transmission and distribution networks. You need maintenance for this infrastructure. A treated pole is not just like going into a bush and cutting a pole. Zaffico is treating the poles for a life span of 20 to 25 years. The auxiliary electric equipment is not cheap. Transformers are not cheap. Even garbage must be paid for. Our ultimate is to serve the public good,” he said.
“You write about us ‘saying Zesco had debt. Zesco has nkongole.’ You forget that debt is yours. If I am selling you something at K3 what I should be selling at K10, then K7 I am putting on my books as debt…So let us just work together and do the right thing. Together we can make this country better.”
Dr Kunda said Zesco was forced to borrow huge sums of money at the prevailing rates to meet the subsidised connection fees.
“…what we are talking about are existing predefined…It is not like you came up and say ‘we want to apply and raise the connection . That memo which was leaked is a planning document and it is speaking to planners which looks at how we input the figures, which system we should use and internal processes of instituting our constructive works,” he said.
“The bottom line is this is only referring to a particular category. Electricity tariffs have not been touched. It remains the same. When we touch electricity, I will be back to explain and everyone will know. This one was a leaked document but essentially in terms of practice and how quotations are delivered and executed nothing basically has changed. We haven’t even issued anything based on this. For those predefined areas, we will no longer use predefined figures…K769 for meter separation on even when you need 10 metres of cable, someone who needs one metre is also paying the same! Awe (no). It should vary.”
Dr Kunda said the current model of charging for connection did not meet the basic minimum principles of business.
‘We are not inimical to the feelings of the pockets of individuals. That is a different conversation altogether. Affordability, I think that is what you are talking about. But affordability is one side of the conversation. I am talking about ‘can I produce this service at a rate that is making sense or is it sustainable?’” he said.
“All we are saying is let us have the nearest minimum to ensure the utility continues to be efficient. There are other initiatives that the corporate leadership is putting in place. Quite robust fees’. The internal deflation matrix, which are applying internally here in-house, we need to get rid of it. I think we need to get rid of this deflation thing because it is a planning thing. That memo which was leaked is a planning document and it is speaking to planners which looks at how we input the figures, which system we should use and internal processes of instituting our constructive works,” he said.
“The bottom line is this is only referring to a particular category. Electricity tariffs have not been touched. It remains the same. When we touch electricity, I will be back to explain and everyone will know. This one was a leaked document but essentially in terms of practice and how quotations are delivered and executed nothing basically has changed. We haven’t even issued anything based on this. For those predefined areas, we will no longer use predefined figures…K769 for meter separation on even when you need 10 metres of cable, someone who needs one metre is also paying the same! Awe (no). It should vary.”
Dr Kunda said the current model of charging for connection did not meet the basic minimum principles of business.
‘We are not inimical to the feelings of the pockets of individuals. That is a different conversation altogether. Affordability, I think that is what you are talking about. But affordability is one side of the conversation. I am talking about ‘can I produce this service at a rate that is making sense or is it sustainable?’” he said.
“All we are saying is let us have the nearest minimum to ensure the utility continues to be efficient. There are other initiatives that the corporate leadership is putting in place. Quite robust initiatives. Let us give them chance and space to do the right thing for the good of the people’s company.”
Dr Kunda refuted speculations that the withdrawal on subsidies for reconnection was connected to the IMF deal.
“This has been long overdue. It is a system thing. There is what we call standard connection and non-standard connections. So if you apply for electricity connection today, we will send you a team to your property and we determine if it is a standard or non-standard. If you need two poles I won’t charge for one pole. If you need 10 metres of duplex cable, I will quote you for 10 metres not one metre. We will follow the market price,” said Dr Kunda.
“There is what we used to call standard predefined charges for certain areas if you are in an area called undemarcated. Like you who are in Ma Plot of Mtendere East, in that place irrespective of what you needed to do, we had a predefined system where one would just pay K1,700 even if the true cost is K5,000 or K6,000. The team would come to the site, conduct an assessment. Once the assessment is complete, when they will input into the system and there will be a deflation matrix that will bring down the K6,000 to K1,700.”
(Credit: The Mast)