Namibia wants more power from 'powerless' Zimbabwe

NAMIBIA is looking to increase its electricity imports from Zimbabwe after that country injected more capital for the repair and maintenance of Hwange Power Station.

Zesa is exporting 80 megawatts (MW) of power to Namibia's Nampower under the deal, but this could soon go up by a further 50MW.

Speaking at the eighth session of the Zimbabwe-Namibia Joint Commission in Harare yesterday, Foreign Affairs secretary, Joel Bimha, said negotiations to increase power exports were now at an advanced stage.

Bimha said the two countries had also struck a deal to boost of trade in horticulture and beef imports.

"Under the economic cluster, we focused on the boosting of trade concerning the exportation of fresh food and vegetables by Zimbabwe to Namibia. Namibia will send a delegation to Zimbabwe to inspect the areas for these exports," he said.

Zimbabwe, once a continental beef hub and a major exporter to Europe, will now be importing meat from Namibia, Bimha said.

Zimbabwe and Namibia last night signed three memoranda of understanding (MoUs) during a State visit by Namibia's President Hage Geingob.

The MoUs deal with co-operation in sport, health and women empowerment, gender equality and community development.

Namibian Deputy Prime Minister and International Relations minister Netumbo Nandi – Ndaitwah stressed the need to implement all the agreements signed by the two countries.

"We want to ensure that all decisions agreed will be efficiently and effectively implemented within the timeframe agreed upon," she said.