Zesa struggling to get funding

State power utility company, Zesa Holdings (Zesa) is struggling to attract funding owing to unsustainably high gearing levels and antiquated equipment that have made operations inefficient, the company's 2015 annual report.

Zesa's long term loans stood at US$1.076 billion at December 31 2015, up from US$942 million the previous year, making the company unattractive to potential lenders, chairman Herbert Murerwa said in the report.

Seven local banks, the RBZ and the World Bank were as of December 2015 collectively owed about US$180 million by Zesa. Zesa said the adverse operating environment resulted in, among other things, a lack of meaningful investment in the transmission and distribution infrastructure.