Contact: UPND Media Director Ruth Dante, 0976503165
Email: upndzambia@gmail.com
PRESS RELEASE
NAWAKWI’S CLAIM ON HH ALLOWING ZIMBABWE TO USE MORE WATER IS SHAMEFUL
Lusaka (13.01.2023) We know that Madam Edith Nawakwi has never supported President Hakainde Hichilema but surely she cannot sink so low, to say that she had information that President Hichilema gave Zimbabwe Water equivalent to 300mw in April this year. This is according to a story trending on social media.
This is a serious issue and opposition leaders together with other Zambians are supposed to engage and dialogue to find solutions because energy is critical as it affects life, businesses and the environment.
The worst is where some leaders and party officials are so excited and using it as a bullet to attack and claim failure by government instead of showing the Zambian people that they have a solution through checks and balance.
We want to applaud the President of the Republic of Zambia Hakainde Hichilema for taking a lead and showing leadership during the Loadshedding period unlike in the past where citizens were told to urinate in Kariba dam.
According to a report by Zambezi River Authority Chief Executive ENG. Munyaradzi Munodawafa facts are that both ZESCO Limited and Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) have in the past exceeded their water allocation.
He said this when he made his presentation to Ministers and other senior government officials who toured the dam to assess the water and the ongoing $294 million dollar Kariba Dam Rehabilitation Project (KDRP) works.
While ZESCO Limited, stated that water usage for the period 2018 to 2022, was as follows:
2018: Both ZESCO Limited and ZPC did not exceed their water allocation.
2019: ZESCO Limited exceeded its water allocation.
2020: Both ZESCO Limited and ZPC exceeded their water allocation.
2021: Both ZESCO Limited and ZPC exceeded their water allocation.
2022: Both ZESCO Limited and ZPC exceeded their water allocation; ZESCO Limited exceeded by 0.42% (allowable under the Water Purchase Agreement-WPA) while ZPC exceeded by 11.12% attracting applicable over-utilisation penalties.
Details in the report by Zambezi River Authority are as follows:
1) For the year 2022, ZRA allocated 45BCM and that utilities were advised to utilise water within allocation to leave 6% live storage (4BCM) by 31st December 2022 to support power generation into the second quarter of 2023 when flows from mainstream Zambezi River would start peaking in line with the hydrological cycle of the river.
2) The 2022 water allocation was compounded by the need to have very lower lake levels to facilitate for dewatering of the plunge pool without raising concern regarding pore pressure from high lake levels.
3) Over-utilisation of water by utilities and poor performance of Kariba lower catchment Rivers led to low water levels being recorded during the last quarter of the year 2022.
4) Current lake level is 475.78 (0.28m above the Minimum Operating Level-MOL of 475.5m. (11 Jan 2023)
5) Flows in the mainstream Zambezi River are expected to continue increasing going into February 2023.
6) Lake levels increasing and projected to significantly increase by April 2023 in line with peak flows of mainstream Zambezi River.
7) The upper catchment of the Zambezi River is recording increased water levels.
😎 The two utilities (ZESCO Limited and ZPC) will maintain combined average generation output at Kariba at 500MW, i.e., 250MW ZESCO and 250MW ZPC to the end of January 2023 after which they could increase to 400MW per power station as the flows of the mainstream Zambezi River further increase during both the months of February and March and into the second quarter of the year 2023.
9) The DAM DRAINS (located at the foot of the dam) from which minimal amounts of water is discharged from the upstream side of the Kariba Dam to downstream in a manner also referred to as ‘leaking’ are part of the structural design of any dam infrastructure. They have no effect on the structural integrity of the dam and do not deprive the utilities of water needed for power generation as the discharged amounts are very negligible.
The above are details from Zambezi River Authority and one wonders what Madam Nawakwi’s intention was by claiming that President Hichilema intervened and allowed Zimbabwe to continue using the water from the dam.
Madam Nawakwi’s claim has reminded us of the another of her claims where she accused President Hichilema of abducting Pheluna and Milton Hatembo. Am sure many of us thought this claim was a lesson to Madam Nawakwi because it led to the arrest of an innocent woman ‘Bina Nkwazi’ who is Chief Mukuni’s queen and the death of two persons whose children are now living as orphans.
UPND MEDIA TEAM.