'Conduct inquiry into the power sector in Zimbabwe'

James Maridadi, the MP for Mabvuku-Tafara has called for an inquiry into the power sector in Zimbabwe following the intermittent power cuts on both domestic and commercial users as a result of massive load-shedding and electric faults.

In a motion moved in the House of Assembly on Thursday, Maridadi said there was lack of capacity by the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) to attend timeously to faults and there was the ever increasing gap between demand and supply including lack of investment into the power sector by the shareholder.

He said the flight of qualified and experienced personnel has had adverse effects on the electricity supply industry.

(I) therefore resolves that the Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy conducts an inquiry into the power sector in Zimbabwe, said Maridadi while tabling his motion.

The motion was seconded by Gift Chimanikire, the Southerton MP and MDC Shadow Minister of Defence.

“The growth of an economy is dependent on the availability of electricity. The fact that electricity is an economic enabler cannot be denied. The beauty with this subject before us, Mr. Speaker, is that it is colour blind and it transcends political barriers without respect.

“When there is no electricity in Mabvuku and Tafara, where I come from, everyone in the constituency is in darkness regardless of their colour, religious persuasion or political affiliation,” said Maridadi.

He said his first day in the House of Assembly was blighted by four power cuts, which nearly derailed the smooth running of the business of the day as ZESA is producing a paltry 1000 MW a day.

“The difference is imported from the region and mostly from Hydro Cabora Bassa (HCB) in Mozambique at an average cost of US$6.5 million a month. I should hasten to add that, only 50 MW are confirmed each day and the remainder of up to 350MW is sold subject to availability at HBC.

“The above unfortunate scenario means Zimbabwe is a net electricity importer and one of the biggest such per capita power importers on the continent. Our country’s manufacturing sector is operating at about 35 percent capacity and fast declining and yet we do not have adequate
power for such small demand,” he said.

“ZESA ‘will simply take us closer to the trees’,” said Maridadi.

“It is however, refreshing to note that the inclusive government bit the bullet and introduced a tariff that will make the industry viable and attractive to would-be investors. This has resulted in Independent Power Producers (IPPs) like Nyamingura in Mutasa which dispatches 1MW,” he said.

The legislator said in order to attract investment into the sector, the government must show seriousness by using our natural resources to secure borrowings and invest in the sector.

“What has happened in most of the past 33 years since independence is that, new consumers are simply connected to the existing network. A typical example is the sprawling dormitory town of Chitungwiza. All the additional residential and industrial consumers since 1985 are simply lumped onto the existing network. This results in network overload and obvious breakdowns,” he said.