THE 35 per cent increase in electricity tariffs is an important decision for attracting the necessary investment required to develop Zambia’s electricity potential, World Bank country manager for Zambia, Kapil Kapoor has said.
On Monday, the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) approved a 35 per cent average increment in electricity tariffs effective August 1, 2009 to 2010 against Zesco Limited’s proposed 66 percentage hike.
Dr Kapoor said the tariff ruling given by the ERB in relation to the application by Zesco was a necessary and important step in ensuring improved and expanded delivery of electricity services.
In a response to a Press query, Dr Kapoor said the multi-year tariff framework provided a balanced approach that would allow migration towards a cost-reflective tariff structure, while buffering the impact on the overall economy.
“The average increase of 35 per cent for 2009 to 2010 with subsequent incremental increases agreed for 2010 to 2011 is an important measure to attract the necessary investments required to develop Zambia’s potential.
“The estimated US$4 billion needed for new generation and rehabilitation projects, combined with over $1 billion needed for transmission is beyond the capacity of public sector financing and will require large scale private sector participation,” Dr Kapoor said.
He said important national projects such as the Kafue Gorge Lower and Itezhi-Tezhi required a stable and predictable tariff regime which allowed for cost recovery.
Dr Kapoor, however, admitted that a number of areas of concern still remained.
Performance indicators for 2007 clearly demonstrated that Zesco’s performance had been below expectation for a utility of its size and technical capabilities.
He said the ERB had disallowed roughly K700 billion in non-business related costs and that Zesco’s staff costs continued to be high in relation to its operating costs.
“Customers are still not being fully metered and the staff tariff for Zesco employees is still not equivalent to the residential tariffs.
“However, we are encouraged by the direction provided by the minister in his recent statements, along with those from the new board and management of Zesco that they are committed to improving efficiency and focussed on strengthening governance structures,” Dr Kapoor said.
He said the World Bank supported recent reports suggesting a performance agreement that would allow for an independent audit of performance and ensure that those responsible are held accountable for the sector’s performance.
He said Zesco faced a challenge to ensure that the increased revenues are applied to improved quality of service and the expansion of electricity to areas that are not served.
[Times of Zambia]
Increasing tariffs is not a solution…..I pitty poor Zedians who will have to cope up with this.
Its them who suggested. As #1 has rightly put it, increasing tarrifs is not the solution. The solution is proper usage of the funds, accountability coupled with quality service.
it’s just like the better TV fee,for three years since we started paying nothing has changed to our ZNBC,this is just another pocket felling scame,ERB, ZESCO board have even hiked there allowances following the increase in tarriffs…its a pity the increment has just swollen the 15% salary increment….
I bet Zesco haz big debts withe World Bank and obviously they would have the last laugh with this mega tarrif hike at the expense the underpaid, overtaxed and poor Zambianz.
On the Zesco electricity tariff hike of 35 per cent, Prof Chirwa said the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) should not allow the company to hike tariffs without presenting a full plan for the future.
…VIVA Prof
World bank and IMF are not the greatest advisers . We need to think differently and out of our box. The World is not round or is it. Maybe we need to introduce National Service to become compulsory at 18 and after high school. Where skills are taught to people, this will empower them . and National Service can develop building projects around the country, fix roads and paint buildings. have a agriculture centre as well to feed the country. Zambia needs Socialism.
Prepare for hard times ahead.
#6. I think you are right. I was thinking about national service not only to sch leavers but to all people with no jobs. They can be given land to do farming and mend roads, etc.
I looked at the Financial Statements for the YEar ending 2006. Barclays Capital , london was the largest lender to the institution. $75m at the time.. which Zesco borrowed for the Copperbelt to Lumwana link + othr. The CEC power supply contract was taken as security. ZESCO paid bak in 4 yrs .. no default.. All total of about $10m only was owing to Multilateral institutions world bank inclusive. RB need to explain where the cash has gone..
These guys must be crazy! 35% tarrif increament for 2009-2010 with subsequent incremental for 2010 to 2011 is condemning the Zambian people pepertual misery. Zesco has no proper governance structures, thats why the company, just like Zamtel is run like a Kantemba. What they need to do is decouple the company into smaller independent subsidiaries creating separate entities that will be responsible for generation, and distribution respectively. Onother thing is why is the World Bank guy speaking as if he is the Zesco MD? It clearly shows that this tarrif hike was orchestrated by them and our gvt has no balls to reject it, further worsening the peoples economic situations. In the short term, a rescue parckage is inevitable for this company, just to provide relief to the consumers.
The problem is Govt, has been turning to ZESCO bank accoutns when they need money.. for By elections, trips abroad , gratuities etc.. cause there is no longer ZANANCO or ZCCM whose cash they used to move to fund operations.. The same is the story with ZAMTEL.. all the need to find equity partner stuff is nonsense. Now taht both institutions need recapitalisation for major equipment repair and replacement ( turbines ) and expansion (more turbines) due to increased demand, they strt all these stories, tariff hike, equity partner. We need to see published 20 year accounts, particulalarly Cash flow statements and statement of movement in reserves.. we are not stupid..
I would have talked about NAPSA and the other Public Pension Fund.. whe are the cash investments. right now in Zambia.. a company is chrged monthly penalties amoutning to 20% of value of Employee pensions remitted to teh authorities after the 21st of the month deadline.. yes I mean you submit return on 22nd. Your are charged 20% of the value of what you were due to pay.. evryone pays NAPSA.. the problem is .. Govt then goes and takes the cash through Bank of Zambia , and gives NAPSA I.O.U’s in excahnge (GOvt Bonds).. as we speak.. NAPSA has “lent”, “placed”, “invested” just under 1 trillion kwacha in these so called Govt Bonds. Thats how our country is running.. and they think we are all dull
LT where is my earlier posting..
i dont understand the reasoning in all this.What is the vic falls for? what are all the water falls in zambia for? why must we pay more for electricty like we are in the kalahari or nambi desert? why cant we ever have debates on tv so US the consumers can be made to understand why this country is run like animal farm.it is so upsetting to be a zambian. we are under paid already,taxed like crazy,are told we wont be given salary increments,cant afford decent meals from 1-30,we are barely surviivng and someone says they hike tariffs.WHERE IS THE MONEY COMING FROM,ALREADY WE ARE IN ARREARS WITH ZESCO BILLS!!!!!
#13. They need to pay MPs and salaries for ministers, so they need more cash. They know that 2011 they will be out so they need to loot now.
Everything has been increase except salaries, twachula pafula.
Forget about ZESCO. The time is ripe for solar- and wind powered electricity investment. This is the future.
we are played, who is world bank?Aid (of a sort) also comes from other sources. In 1944, the United Nations created the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Voting power in both organizations is determined by a country’s financial contribution. As the largest “donor,” the United States has a dominant voice, followed by Germany, Japan, France, and Great Britain. The IMF operates in secrecy with a select group of bankers and finance ministry staffs drawn mostly from the rich nations.
The World Bank and IMF are supposed to assist nations in their development. What actually happens is another story. A poor country borrows from the World Bank to build up some aspect of its economy. Should it be unable to pay back the heavy interest because of declining export sales or some other reason, it must borrow again, this time from the IMF.
Why has poverty deepened while foreign aid and loans and investments have grown?
World bank just wants repayment of their interest on loans. They can go to hell.
The purpose behind their investments, loans, and aid programs is not to uplift the masses in other countries. That is certainly not the business they are in. The purpose is to serve the interests of global capital accumulation, to take over the lands and local economies of Third World peoples, monopolize their markets, depress their wages, indenture their labor with enormous debts, privatize their public service sector, and prevent these nations from emerging as trade competitors by not allowing them a normal development
now they are instructing us on how much we must increase tarrifs,are they going to increase the salaries of the zambians
Ghost dog
Time to tell it as it is.Go on.
“World Bank accepts electricity tariff hike” reads the headline. It is not for world bank to ACCEPT. Do we report to the world bank? We fought for independence and yet due to our slavery mentality we still feel the need to report? Lets not forget that IMF/World Bank have their own objectives, which are very different from ours. Economics aside, there are unique social and economic realities prevailing in Z which we understand better than WB. In my humble opinion, the key is good management of the little resources that one has. Remember the parable of the master who left his servants different talents to invest? There is little point in raising tarriffs before addressing the corruption and mismanagement of funds.
If Zesco were run properly and profitably, it could reduce its debt while maintaining affordable tarriffs. But rather than do this, Zesco frequently makes money available for political campaigns and for covert government operations. This increase in tarriffs is another Tax on the already over burdened Zambian populace.
Digga # 11.
In theory there is nothing wrong with NAPSA investing in government bonds (IOU’s) as they offer a relatively low risk of default and pay a fixed interest. I say in theory because there assumption is that the government will not default on this debt. The alternative is for your money to be in fixed deposit with Finance bank , meridien bank or capital bank!! Do you trust those people with your money? LUSE is another option if you trust the governance and performance of the listed companies. Remember equity holders are the last to be paid in the event of liquidation. Personally i think NAPSA should invest in international money markets and capital markets. Good returns, better corpoarte governance, low currency risk, internationally tradeable securities, transparency.
The Ghost i really like your contibutions to this site.keep it up!
The World Bank is correct. We should ask ourselves why we are in the state we are in ie black outs, rationing etc. How do we expect to come out and never get back. We need investment. As Mr Kapoor said, the govt cannot foot this $4b bill. If they dont, who will? If investment will come from the private sector, local or foreign, then they must get a return on their investment. If you and me had $4 bn, would we invest in power generation in Zambia. Are the tariffs high enough to give you a return and your money back. The answer is NO! This is why we have not seen that investment already. Ask yourself, why are people investing in the mines and not in electricty? Both copper and water are natural resources, aren’t they? We must make hydro power an attractive investment.
Regarding Zesco, the company will continue underperfoming as long as it is owned by teh Govt. All parastatals are like that. What is that k700bn non-business related costs ERB disallowed? Think about it. That is a lot of money. What are those costs. Can you have a business run with such large non-business costs. Crazy!
Zesco needs to be privatized if it is to improve efficiency and productivity. Otherwise we shall forever be crying over its failures. the solution to Zesco and Zamtel is privatisation. This will keep politicians out. Then managers will run the company as a business. Some would ask what about rural electrification? Well, the Govt can contract Zesco to do it for them and pay. Privatisation will be good both for Zesco and Govt discipline.
Simon #26.. My comments leading to that one got lost somewhere.. I was saying that.. govt need to publish the Financial results and Financial statements of ZESCO, particulalry the Statements of Movement in reserves and Cashflow statements. for the Past 10 years.. ZESCO has made money .. make no mistake and has produced+ve cashflow. and have been sought after by private banks for business, and despite being public owned coy have good credit risk profile.. The Barclays term loan financing and pledged securities thereof ( debebture over ZESCO oper assets & fixed ones) were registerd in both the High Court of Zambia & UK. I want to see where the cash / reserves over the years have gone
What we need in Zambia is to open up the power market so that we have a viable industry. At the moment the tariifs are too low to attract private participation. Zambia has a potential to have several ‘Zescos’. In the UK, we have as many as 6 power companies. Customers are free to switch from company to company anytime. If you dont like the service or the tarriffs you can just call another supplier and tell them you want to switch to them. They will handle everything for you and within a month or so, you are gone, either for gas or electricity or both. We need to have such competition in Zambia. It is possible, given the hydro power potential. But private investors will only come if they can make profit. So the tarriffs must be favourable. Its same as any business you want to go in.
?? I was saying that we are not naive or dull. Govt thinks just etlling us that the companies are not doing well without publishing the financials can blindus to the facts.. which are. 1) Follwoign sale of ZCCM, collapse of ZNOC and quite liquidation, and finally ZANACO. GRZ has nowhere to get cash from when the needed to operate anymore. ie pay gratuities, aviation fuel for the challenger, salaries, hotel bills etc So the last 10 years so ZESCO, & ZANACO (through GRZ Bonds) & ZAMTEL cash looted as and when they needed cash.. internal shareholder drawings made in BOZ from ZANCO or instruction to move key client payment to GRZ BOZ accts…
28 UK ZED Observer . You make a valid point regarding the need for investment in our electricity sector. Although i do not thin kthe problem is with the level of tarriffs but the inefficiencies that you also alluded (eg K700bn non business expenses), as well as poor billing and revenue protection. The disposable income of Zambians is not increasing, there is no job creation etc so how can citizens afford. The highly successful CEC IPO showed that there is an appetite for investing in the sector so i dont see why private investment shouldn’t work. The mines success, as well as economic growth in general rely to a great extent on energy capacity.
They then leave I.O.U’s in the till… Without these sources like I said ZESCO & ZAMTEL suffered.. why do you think we ended up with the Zambia National Oil Company problems and INDENI feedstock problems.. cash was moved an applied to other uses.. Now the problem we have is that Capital Reserves ( meant for repair, maintenance, recapitalisation & expansion of INDENI) for the stategic firms INDENI, ZAMTEL & ZESCO have been looted.. And even bigger problem is that these companies now have failing, old plants & equipment that need replacement because fixing cannot work anymore.. and all at the same time…
iye aba ba ZESCO.mwalatwipaya.
No 31, I ever knew that you have many suppliers in the Uk and a household can switch if not happy with the service. Thats very interesting. I agree we need competition but even with increased taffifs we are unlikely to see many investors. And ZESCO and CEC will dominate the distribution for at least another 10 to 15 years. One problem that we have is political will to move on .People seem not to understand that power is commodity that should be paid for at its economic price ND THE gOVERNMENT IS NOT TAKING THE BULL BY ITS HORNS AND EXPLAINING the options and cleaning up ZESCO. I am not for cprivatising ZESCO I have another game plan
#30 Digga
Ideally a public company’s Fin. Satements should be available to the public, who are the investors thru Govt. Of course if the company was publicly traded, then one requirement is for Fin Staments to be available at least to every shareholder.
If there’s a Companies House or a Registra of Companies in Zambia, there should be some Fin Statements filed there by Zesco, as this is a requirment.
I worked for some Sate companies in Zambia. I can tell you they can go for years without producing audited reports. And the Govt, the shareholder, is fully aware of this. Often, it’s because the Govt have been dipping their fingers in the cash box. So it’s a case of “let sleeping dogs sleep”.
May be Zesco have Fin Stats online. Worth checking their website.
3 out of the 6 Kafue gorge turbines are down.. the mud slide last year, an unforseen event , made an unprepared looted company fail.. ZAMTEL cannot even replace and modernise central circuit swtching phone exchnages. the guys from UNZA have been fixing and this cannot ustain.. as the many of the electical and electronic components are probably not produced anymore by the suppliers.. look at technological change in voice & Mobile sectors between 1989 & 2009.. using PTC techno.. in short we cannot fix our way out fo problems anymore.. GRZ need at least $750million Dollars just for these three.. levey left $2b in the pot.. RB has managed to get it under $1b as we speak with widening trade deficits…
There was just an interview on radio and ZESCO does claim to have prepared last years financial statement. And I do believe they are avalable to the public because ERB recently made mention to them
Digga 34. I think its probably true to say that UK ZED, yourself, and i are saying the same thing but in different ways. We all ask for better management, capital investment and transparency. It would not surprise me to find that Zesco’s financial statements are 2-3 yrs behind, because they have so much to hide. It goes back to the governance arguement. As long the Zesco or Zamtel Board reports to a PS, who reports to a the President then we will always have a problem.
UK ZED observer.. exactly .. Tehse isntitutions have not provided the investing owner public with stutory information , becaus ethey cannot be put together let alone signed off… RB and his friends think hearing rubbish from the lips will blind us to the real issues.. show us the financials, application fo funds, tehn as a public agree on way forward to modernise OUR PLANTS.. Tahts why im so annoyed, and against selling the instittutions to profiteers who will just kill at least 10,000 jobs imediately.. it will be another Zambia Railways SAGA.. for RB and friends.. tahts the best solution they could come up with hping that will bring the equipment to these delapidated plants????? how simple. pass on the problems, responsibility and the monkey to a private investor.
#36 POSITIVE PA ZED
Yes we have so many power companies and so much choice. I myselfe have switched between suppliers about 3 times in last 2 years.
We are having similar competition with telephones. You can maintain your house phone number and swith between telecom companies, just like mobile phones. Now they want to do it with water and sewerage services.
I know it seems difficult in Zambia. But we must take a step in that direction. If Zesco knew that that is where we are going, that the market will open up, they will begin to prepare themselves for competition. I tell you they will improve or go bust.
In going forward, one step could be removing Zesco from distribution – like CEC. They dont generate any power, but only distribute. We must aim for a competitve power sector.
I end here.. teh private sector is SAVVY and and will simply do what BINANI & the Israeli Concessionee under the Zambia Railways deal did.. Uproot the steel infrastructure ( rail stocks, rail lines, boilers in SMELTERCO furnace, the Concentrator and converyor belt baluba shaft to luanshya mine processing plant…..) I can go on and on, export the steel and sell it to Indonesian, Chinese & korean steel firm taht will process this as scrap and sell to ARclelor Mittal for huge profits.. Tahts what happened to all the equipement in the factories in Ndola.. Colgate/ Johnson & John Sons etc.. we have weak commercial law, particulalry those that should protect techncological equipemnt and investment and our Gvt Trophy ( copper ZINC Uranioum) royalties etc…
Hey hey I just said that ZESCO has provided last years fin. statements and ERB has actually made reference to go so digga # 41 dont blow your top just yet. some progress is being made buts lets demand more. As for selling of ZESCO what do you have against it?? or maybe I should ask what kind of firm do you want to run our electricity ? a private profit making firm? A government profit making firm ?? A govt social welfare firm?
BEFORE EVEN THE YEAR ENDS I DECLARE “THE PICTURE OF THE YEAR” IT IS IN TODAY’S WEEKEND POST PAGE 2.A PATRON TAKES TO THE FLOOR AT CITY CLUB. That G STRING no size.
Simon/ UK Zed observer. you right.. but simply jumping to privatisiation becasue of World Bank & because to simple lazy minds like RB think its the most convenient thing at least in the short term while he’s alive. is what Im against.. Privatision need be applied selectively with credible Coy’s withlong term strategic plans. who are hard to find, bring in and convince that their investment would be safe free from expropriation in Africa. We need to look at what the faster developing countries are doing. What have Brazil, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Khazakstan, Uzbekistan, Libya, Chile,Russia done? Teh all have taken control or demanded a better share of the key Resources and stepped on toes to get it done. We need to renegotiate COpper, Uranium, Gold, Coal, Gemstones, and get our fair…
In almost all cases of parastal companies, there comes a point where they run into financial problems and they cannot continue without fresh injection of money. There’s inherent in them inefficiencies – laxity, political interference, over employment to satisfy politicians etc. So it’s a matter of time.
In the UK, the Postal Services have reached that point. They have so much debt etc that the Govt has said the only option is privatisation. There’s much opposition because many jobs will be lost. But there’s no other viable option.
I hear RB is going to Ndola to sit down with Zamtel mgt and unions. Sounds like its not business as usual for Zamtel. Unless they have private investment they may not survive. Tough decisions ahead.
#46 Diggar
You are very right. We need to learn from others. I really like China. They seem to know how to run State companies in a way that brings advantage to their people. When you are a developing country, the Govt is best positioned to own and run things as thay have the money. It works well if you have a sincere Govt who knows what they are doing. If we had a serious Govt, they could run Zesco and Zamtel in a viable way. If you have a wasteful Govt, you are in trouble. Unfortunately we have such Govt. The leaders we currently have dont inspire. Cant trust them with my money. There are many, even single party govts, that have done good. In the end, what matters is the quality and calibre of people in Govt.
Gabage in gabage out. Do our leaders look like they learn from others?
African countries should make sensible decisions. For example Malawi rejected World Bank instructions to stop Farmer subsidies. Result -bumper harvest and selfsurfient in food production. Zesco should make decisions that will enhance economic development in Zambia by not taking shortcuts like tarrif hikes
I am all for private enterprise, i believe that capitalism is the best system for economic management (Yes – even with knowledge of Credit crisis) However, depending on the level of wealth or poverty of a nation, i believe it has to be exercised with great caution and with a social conscience. I therefore would not like to see asset stripping and retrenchments all in the name of efficiency. Our country has very few people in formal employment, less than 2% (circa 150,000) which in tern affects demand for goods/services. Without demand there can be no growth, unless we have external demand ( but we’d still need to redistribute wealth.) I therefore think it is permissable to over employ for the social and eventual economic benefit.
48 Continued. I see a lot of poor indigenous white british families in the uk, but you would not guess that they were poor because they have disposable income. The govenrment here uses the welfare system (unemployment benefits) as well as other government spending programmes as a factor for economic growth ( to create demand). Capitalism does not exist in a pure form as envisaged by the likes of Adam Smith.
Hi #44 POSITIVIST PA ZED.. Those are problably high level finacials that just show 14 lines on the BSheet and 6 lines on the PL & some six 6 appendices.. Ie. two revenue amount disclosures. Then otehr lines ” debotrs”, “cash”, Fixed Assets”.. Our Companies Act does not demand detailed disclusure of activities as to public Listed Companies in say the UK and US stock exchanges, who are under intense pressur for further discliysre following high level coprrate frauds and company collapses,, Sarbanes-Oxley act forllowing Enron etc.. For this type of thing we need to see full prospective information.. dealaited operating cost, finacing and investment decision disclosures, technical features., asset valuations, CFO & MD narraive.. usuall many years back. etc
On “THE 35 per cent increase in electricity tariffs is an important decision for attracting the necessary investment required to develop Zambia’s electricity potential, World Bank country manager for Zambia, Kapil Kapoor has said“, what investment is being mentioned here. This is very sad especially from a group of characters that have crippled the Zambian economy due to their experiment on theories they have never used in the developed countries.
In light of this, I just wish the UPND-PF PACT all the best in the 2011 elections and hope that our Parliament will be filled by Grade 12 and above LITERATE MPs. We need to make progress.
Be blest all.
_
Psalm 16 + KJV Bible:
8 I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Digga. When i was last in Zambia, you could pay K5000 to registrar of companies in order to conduct a “search” on a company. This would give you access to all the statutory submissions of that company had made eg Directors, shareholders, board resolutions, accounts etc. The accounts however will be high level as you describe and will not go into detail. For assurance you rely on the Auditors opinion. You would trust that the auditors in forming an opinion would have asked the questions that you are asking, and got answers. Difficult if accounts are not audited. If they were, would partners of PWC Zambia give bad report to say, Zamtel, if that account netted them K300m in fees per annum. I doubt it. Unfortunately we are witnessing a lot of negligence and lack of professionalsm.
Yeah digga so lets not loose our cool it will not help. What is needed to push for refoerms of many things including the way that Parastatals report and probably a better opposition that could bring out these things to the public domain through the press and parliament. But you have not aswered my question of what kind of firm our power utility would be and I also ask in a wider context what reforms you would love too see to energy and the private sector as awhole
The aim of IMF and WB is to ensure 3rd world countries collect as much revenue as possible so that we can pay back the loans that we owe them. They dont care about us or if such action can cause civil strife.
HERE COMES DEFORESTATION……. We will see a surge in charcoal consumption leading to deforestation. People just look at the peanut-salaries in Zambia. Who will be paying K600 000 per month? When in Zambia I used to pay K300 -400 000 per month— this was a very small family. I dont know how the people in Mandavi, chaisa,kalingalinga, linda etc going to manage.
Well, this is what is meant by NEO-COLONIALISM as Zambians have no say as decisions are made by the Bretton Woods Institutions (The World Bank and IMF).
This is a good lesson for Zambians and should learn from it.
The Chinese will be the next to start dictating what policies the government has to follow and what not to do.
The major problem is that we never seem to learn. Its scary.
Fine let them increase, guys we just have to move to Plan B which is Solar and other alternatives lets see how much money ZESCO will be raising. lets see who is clever between ZESCO and Consumers.
hey mule, # 59 maybe thats why the country needs a new brand of leadership e.g. YOU. hint hint.
Socialism is needed in Zed, lets end this `Greed”. Privatization will never work in Zambia. England is no example to follow, They are crypt and two faced people. they grow nothing and they make nothing
The solution to this could be,may be employ the non-paying methods of the people of SOWETO in RSA in the 1990s when they punished ESKOM by all of them refusing to pay their bills for years.If People could agree not to pay,ZESCO will shit in their pants.But in Zambia people are to disorganised to effect this.While some will avoid paying, “the some of us” will show off by paying thus defeating the struggle.ZESCO needs the people more than they need it,but do Zambians know this?
World Bank ni Galu.. They are supporting the increament so that the can recover their loans….
Befor cell phones came Zamtel was behaving like King….look at them now !!
Kelvin 62 – Justify the adoption of socialism in Zambia, and explain how it would work, while you are at it, throw in some facts about the UK not growing or producing anything, this will help us understand your viewpoint
POSITIVIST PA ZED you’re question is what we should all be focused on. Not easy. Needs minds, consensus & Bal#s. I believe in a liberalised economy, with Govt participation selectively limited only to the few sectors who’s very existence supports the rest of the general economy. These are sectors proven to deliver goods or services to the masses (intended purpose) at the lowest possible economic cost. usually from economies of scale. Energy, in particular water, Fuel and Electricity. This differs frm economy to economy. For the US, private firms, legal & regulatory structure could deliver these imperatives, but for us no. Africa does nt have access to these Credit markts, & Western firms just wont take African Credit & sovereign risk.. Fact number 1. For ZESCo unbundle like CEC..
Keep Generation units concession out distribution. up to 20 zones. Build regulation on this , particularly pricing, health safety and ethics.. Gvt must maintain significant though minority interst say 25%. Pbblic participation say25 %. the balance the concessionaire. use funds raised to 1) invest in alternatives 2) put up as part of GRZ’s 50% contribution to developing another 600 mgawatt generation facility currently feasible, lower Kafue. Intead of going in with TATA, the speak to Medvedev who’s looking to expanding Russia’s energy sphere to Africa. Start making plans for Upscaling Nothern province Chishimba Falls.. Think there small genration there.. Sqeeze CEC. that was ZCCM prprtythey have added nothign but externalised profits over the years. A ka $30m could be raised
Digga, you seem to have given this serious thought. Everyday i am reminded what great brains Zambia has, and you have just reminded me again. 10 yrs ago when the Zimbabwean economy was doing ok, i always used to argue with people that Zambia was still better off in that our human capital was highly developed (educated) and that inspite of poor macro economic indications, the little we had accrued in large part to us Zambians. Forgive the digression. Its just refreshing to know that we have people like you who think and Zambia is by no means a lost cause. My only advice to you is please do not join formal politics lest you be tainted and painted with the same brush. Wishing you all Gods blessings.
Hi. Cab see you are still at it. Enjoyed reading thru the comments. Thanks.
#68 Simon. Yes Zambia has a lot of brainy people. Just look at those in the private sector and those out in the diaspora. They are doing well. Very capable.
ZESCO has increased tariffs despite objections and good suggestions alus from we the people. But ba fipuli (WB) welcome it. It means RB and his fellow galus have nothing to do with you. Their concern is to listen to the kings(WB) and do what they demand. Ala twaliba mukakubila pa Zed. What is your wish for 2011?
easy to accept something on someone elses behalf. i accept you will be poor, hanged, suffer etc as long as its not me. These guys just want to worsen lives for us. They dont have cheap power in their countries and cant stand it to see z people paying reasonable fees.
You actually make it seem so easy along with your presentation but I find this topic to be actually one thing that I think I would by no means understand. It kind of feels too complicated and extremely extensive for me. I am having a look ahead in your subsequent post, I’ll attempt to get the hang of it!