Outgoing British High Commissioner to Zambia Alistair Harrison has described the proposed increase in the electricity tariffs by the Zambia Electricity Co-operation Company (ZESCO) as a likely drawback to efforts towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.
Mr. Harrison says the proposed increment in the electricity tariffs will impact negatively on some of the efforts the Zambian government is making to achieve the United Nations set MDGs.
Mr. Harrison told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka today that although the Zambian economic fundamentals were on the right track, there was need to put in place extra remedial measures aimed at attaining the MDGs.
He said availability and accessibility of electricity would have an impact on the social and economic well being of the country.
Mr. Harrison said as Zambia moves closer to the MDGs target date there is need to increase investment in human development such as education and health to enable more people to effectively and meaningfully participate in the country’s economic development.
The British envoy further said that as Zambia recovers from her economic doldrums there is need to keep both electricity and water tariffs stable as well as maintain the prices of food in order to help the poor meet their basic needs.
Mr. Harrison said although the rise in the world food prices carries implications for both the rich and poor countries, the Zambian government must ensure that its people benefits from the rising Copper prices and other natural resources that the country has in abundance.
He said there is need to look at the country’s economic fundamentals before considering an increment in the electricity tariffs as many Zambians cannot afford to meet the increment.
Mr. Harrison has however advised ZESCO to consider increasing investment into the country’s power generation in an effort to address the continuous power outages that have continued to hit most parts of the country.
He further observed that the continuous increments in the tariffs and food prices would likely lead to a spiral increase in the country’s inflation rate.
ZANIS/TK/AM/ENDS
ZESCO please reduce your cost of production. You can start by restructuring your work force. Look at the expenditure/personel ratio. It’s currently even higher than that of ESCOM, but you’re just quick to propose hiking the tariff. Your whole system from production, distribution and maintenance is so inneficient that you incurr costs that can and should be avoided.
Why hike?eem! There is so much ineffecieny in ZESCO, what is needed is a complete overhaul of the top management, and surely profits will be recorded.
You need a Managing Director with a business acumen, not necessarily someone with a degree in Electrical but someone like Chibamba Kanyama, HH, Bwalya Ng’gandu and probably you.
It is high time ZESCO used target costing approach.
Those thieves! They don’t even want to install meters in my area so they can continue to charge us exhorbitantly high tariffs regardless of whether there is a blackout or not.
What makes it even worse is that for us on fixed charge, the increase is doubled e.g. if they increase by 25%, it will be 50% or more for us on fixed charge. In addition to that, they are telling us to use less power.
Please twapapata talk to Mr MD (SISALA)twafwa ifwe. You will buy units for K50,000.00 they will finish in two weeks serious.
You know,wage bill is so huge because recruitment procedure is compromised.They employ their own relatives so much so that work input is highly reduced.Literally their relatives don’t work which in turn frustrates the few can work to a point where the few that can work say “Let’s work as we earn”.
This has affected the service delivery and more so the quality of service.What is required is selflessness from the people accorded the authority to manage to put aside this nepotism and concentrate proper management skills if we are to forge ahead,otherwise the best option would to leave the utility company to independent people to manage like the private sector.
Alistair Harrison should give the same advice to the electric company’s here in the UK!!!
No.1 Issue.
Apart from Zimbabwe, ZESCO has the lowest electricity tariffs in the Central & Southern African region. In Africa ZESCO is among the lowest in electricity tariffs. As much as it is necessary to improve the efficiency of the company, there is need to operate profitably. The product price should be profitable and this cant be achieved through efficiency alone. There is a limit at which you will need to increase the commodity price.
No.2 Issue
ZESCO is wholly owned by GRZ. As long as this will remain the case, ZESCO management cannot be blamed. Major decisions are done by politicians. And who thinks business guys are the best to run electricity companies? Do you have any examples
Ukutuumpa bafika.. why ukuluunda amalaiti?Do not compare our economy to other countries in the region,most of them are far much better than us.Scissors must negotiate with his bosses, trim your relatives in ZESCO.
If the vice president supports incresing electricity tarrifs because they are low in comparison with those of states within the region,then there should also be reciprocal support for an increase of the peoples wages which have been very low for a long time in comparison to those of countries win the region.
Running govt owned companies in Zambia is difficult. If the same companies were to be put in private hands, things would change quite immediately.
But hay, this is Africa, what do you expect??
A reasearch reveals that the price of electricity for consumers in Zambia is actually among the lowest in the world! In other countries, prices are as high as 10cents per unit while people in Zambia pay not even a cent (0.009 cents). The problem is not only with ZESCO but with the low income rate in the country. Otherwise investors would have already come in to compete, but why should they bother if they wont make profits?
zesco has too many managers who are in excess of 200,getting huge salaries at expense of unionised workers
THIS IS INSANE HOW CAN THEY DO THIS? LET THEM LOOK AT THEIR EXPENDITURE,NOT TO EXPLOIT THE ALREADY EXPLOITED.
Zesco your problem is you want to steal money from innocent Zambians to support you expenditure.
You have too many employees doing nothing but arrogant.
The tariffs should be compared to the per capita income of the people; just because other countries have higher tariffs should not be the sole reason to raise them. We understand ZESCO needs capital to invest in equipment and eliminate some of the inefficiencies that have been built up over the years, but as long as it remains a government parastatal its credit worthiness will be very low and it cannot get a mega bucks loan. Thus, it seems its business model is built around squeezing the average Zambian who is getting poorer by the day. ZESCO should be privatized!
There is very little a parastatal management can do as they cannot make independent decisions. The need for management with acumen in business is valid, but so is management with technical knowledge. A combination of the two could be one solution. However, just appointing a businessman without a technical background won’t solve the problem.
Tell the government to increase the salaries of poor zambians then make your useless increaments.TOO much loadsheding HIGH tariffs,WHY?
Even if all households (though impossible) started paying above K1 million in electricity bills to zesco i strongly doubt if the power utility will be in good stead to marshall and manage the power needs of this nation. Lets it sink into the minds of all at zesco and the supporters of zesco like Peter Mumba that little income if well managed goes a long way in propping up not only businesses but also households. What zesco needs is reorganising their financial situation and then analysing the shortfall or profits before moving into upward or downward adjustment of tariffs which ever is the case. Let us not do it from some slumber perspective or imaginary position. Pls zesco collect debts