Zambia shouldn’t be having power outages; it has small industries – Prof Chirwa
By Philip Chisalu
UK-based Zambian engineer Professor Clive Chirwa says Zambia is not supposed to be experiencing load shedding given that it has minor industries.
And Prof Chirwa says Zesco should be separated into different companies for generation, distribution, transmission, and resale in order to make the firm more efficient.
In an interview recently, Prof
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Professor Chirwa, has the load shedding come because of the industries we have or because of the water levels that have gone down and we are trying to ration the same water? And what advice can you give us now and yet the time you were here failed to do anything for our mother Zambia. We hear about $120 million of Eurobond money was given to Zambia Railways and you were asked to come and revamp the railways and you came, but nothing was done. But all the money disappeared and up now Zambians don’t know where the money went. Then we were also told that you were to open a vehicle assembly plant in Kapiri, I am not sure if it materialized, did it? So imwe ba professor muleikala fye ku London uko and leave us alone.
This man speaks off the cuff without delving into details. The population has been growing so too the powe consumption by mines with the addition of Lumwana, Kansanshi and Kalumbila. This has not been matched in power generation. I know not less than 3 zambian enterprises that have laboured to build new hydropower plants in the northern part of zambia where rainfall is abundant. But they have met stone walls when it comes to regulatory approvals from our own black zambian civil service. This is happening even in the midst of this gut wrenching power blackouts. There is too much corruption in this country. Our civil servants and politicians want to chew from the cob even before the seed is planted. And this not there seed but someone else’s seed. Liberal democracy by tribalists, crooks and conmen has failed us for past 30 years. Let’s try another model. Something with tough laws and continuity of development plans like the Chinese model.
What an insult to Zambiana after plundering while he headed Zambia Railways, and making so much noise to be given a job he doesnt deserve. Failure has the nerve to open his mouth? Some people have no sense of shame.
The Prof should get down from his ivory tower. The rivers are dry and our power is hydro electricity. We have lost the capacity to generate power, so how can you avoid load shedding?