Friday, March 29, 2024

Economic growth recorded in the first quarter of 2010 putting strain on ZESCO

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ZESCO Head Office

ZESCO Acting Managing Director,Ernest Mupwaya has revealed that there is an increase in power demand in the country due to the national economic growth recorded in the first quarter of 2010.

Briefing the press in Lusaka this morning,Mr.Mupwaya says ZESCO has been struggling to meet the increased demand for power created by the increase in economic activity in the country which has had a ripple effect on the households.

He however says the completion of rehabilitation works at the Kafue Gorge power station and the progress being made in finalizing works at the Kariba north bank power station is expected to inject a further 300mega watts of power supply.

He also disclosed that the joint venture partnership between ZESCO and Tata Africa for the construction of the Itezhi Tezhi power station will also contribute significantly contribute to the national power supply .

[pullquote]And ZESCO director of generation and transmission, Masiye Mwale says ZESCO will not prioritize power supply to South Africa despite the country’s government requesting for over 2,000 mega of power supply from the company.[/pullquote]

Mr Mupwaya further disclosed that ZESCO will in the next two weeks sign a US$100million contract to conduct rehabilitation works in Lusaka, Copperbelt, Livingstone and Chipata as part of the measures to address the challenges the institution is facing in power supply.

And ZESCO director of generation and transmission, Masiye Mwale says ZESCO will not prioritize power supply to South Africa despite the country’s government requesting for over 2,000 mega of power supply from the company.

QFM

34 COMMENTS

  1. The Opposition especially PF will be quick to discard the economic activities which is puuting Zesco at high speed to deliver(meet the demand)

  2. There is another indicator to all of you PF Kaponyas that this economy is firing on all cylinders.

  3. The only reason there is a strain on ZESCO is that it has never expanded its capacity for donkey years not due to economic growth.90% of Zambians still live in darkness!!

  4. Thats nauseating nonsense.We have this perpertual sikening attitude by these parastatal heads of always complaining about progress related multiplier effects.We need people at the helm of these eonomic engines who are proactive and economic growth friendly who can plan and have capacity to absorb any of these stochastic hiccups well before the other sectors start firing their cylinders to full capacity.
    Its like someone who has been bothering you demanding meat and when you supply him with enough meat he now complains that his teeth are not so good u should also give him money to fix his rottern teeth.We need real growth and if Zesco cannot operate in a fired up economy let it be shaken from the top.If an institution fails to adhere and satisfy the needs of its masters,the people,close it

  5. Forward with Zambia. This is good news that we know that Zesco cannot meet the demand for power. Even better news to hear that Zesco is taking steps to over some of the problems identified. I also hear that the Kariba Dam may be giving up — that it was not designed to have its gates open and close as often as has happend over the last few weeks.
    Good job Zesco. Be proactive [sorry about the fibre backbone; that must be a pain in your back!]

  6. I very much doubt. In 2007/2008, we had more black outs than now, meaning that time the demand was more. There hasnt been any increase in production

  7. Good to see that economic activity is picking in the country. This is on top of over a billion dollars of FDI that Zambia has received in the first quarter. I hope that the increased capacity comes to fruition soon so as to build on the successes that have so far been achieved. I wonder what the opposition’s plans are on increasing the electricity generating capacity of the country are or have they not got to that stage yet as they are still fighting on who will contest next year’s elections.

  8. See the PF cadres scattering and taking cover when they are expected to dispute the improving economy.
    You will only see them appear when frank Bwalya starts his nonsense, or when sata is addressing call boys.

  9. Good Evening

    Yes, we are happy to hear about economic growth and we know that this is just one of the many economic challenges that come with it. There has always been a huge deficit of power supply in the country and this is not the first time that ZESCO has been pushed to the edge of it’s limits.

    The government should not only focus on wooing investors for the mining sector but should also see that the there is enough investment in the energy sector. It is impossible to make great strides in economic growth without a reliable supply of energy.

  10. #12 Do you know what the genocidal priest’s bail terms are? Howcome if we are living in a dictatorship as he says he is freely given a platform to spew his hate filled venom?

  11. This is funny on so many levels. That the head of a state owned (source of his income) can ever seemingly so innocently place an indirect praise for leadership at the risk of looking incompetent. And as usual some Zambians so stuck on cheap politics bite the bait. Wow. Does anyone have the slightest clue how and when to praise our government for this quote and quote economic growth? Can we with our beautiful minds challenge these people to deliver more than mere rhetoric? People some of these issues are way beyond political affiliation, they call for unified action that should include collective reasoning, intelligent debate and honesty. Not this ‘ukubuta’.

  12. what a load of tosh- he fails to sort out the load shading, now to save his backside and in the same breath please his master as all dogs do using kids psychology he comes up with this kind kidology. kanshi where is economic growth, there is no way reopening of mines would put a strain on Zesco because zesco used to cope very when all the mines were full throttle

  13. #14, I could not have said it better than you! , togeather with 4 and 5, guys you can run the country becouse your minds are sobber. Zambia will progress with mind like yours. even this blog is nice without people like senior citizen and MMD Chief Bootilicker.

  14. #s 14, 14, and 16.
    The number of pipo using electricity has atleast doubled sice KKs days. There are numerous large and small scale mines that have mashroomed allover the place. You have towns like slowezi thhat were once gost towns now overflowing because of newly opend mines. Ofcourse Zesco would not, without forward planing and investment, coupe with this increase in demand. Now incase you say it is RBs fault, he has been president for only 3 yrs. If the economy had not turned and is performing do you think folks would be building houses like there is no tomorro ?

  15. #17, KC; in science there is a thing called a control, which allows for one to test a theory while eliminating variables that may confound or distort the outcome. If we were to hypothesize that President Banda has made for a growing economy we would then test our hypothesis by removing confounding factors such as the growth of the Chinese nation, their demand for copper, raw material and so forth. We might find that governance has been so bad that where we could have grown leaps and bounds we have, but taken one step in ensuring our economy grows while 6 in retarding development. All #16 and I are saying is that maybe you and I need to start reasoning at a level where we can see that leadership cannot fool us into believing they have succeeded when they have failed. Let us do it beyond

  16. political party affiliation lines.
    Having said that, I would also like to commend you for your reasoning, though I think it is a little flawed. ZESCO, a growing company with a monopoly should be capitalising on this ‘growth’ we are experiencing and not be swamped by it. The article talks of a growth; not since the UNIP era, but that merely spans over one quarter of the year 2010. Surely the growth in Solwezi and other mines cannot overcome the regression in activity of Ndola and Kabwe so much so as to overwhelm Zesco. Yet if it has, shouldn’t that be more of a negative than a positive? It means not only is government failing, but state run companies are too. The folks that are building homes, do you know if they represent a bigger or smaller wealth divide? What next, thank RB for…

  17. The folks that are building homes, do you know if they represent a bigger or smaller wealth divide? What next, thank RB for rainfall?

  18. Alot is being said about Zesco and load-shading. Have we forgotten that coal is also good for power generation? We re enjoying good rainfall right now. So what’s going to happen when we have a drought like Kenya or Venezuala? More power problems. Lets stop exporting that coal which they importers are using to generate power. Instead lets build our own power plants.

  19. # 18 youthful Citizen,
    yes i agree with you. We should have more forward planning definetly. what i am arguing about is that RB has been president for 3 yrs and we are experiencing growth. Now others are demanding change, for what ? tribal reasons ?. Why should i vote in an unkown entity and start from scratch, with some dreamers promising development in 3 months. yes governance is not perfect as me and you would like it, but ushering in a party that sems to incourage guys like Fr F.bwalya who preaches nothing but anarchy and hate is a worring prospect. I am not a RB fan, but i think if all Zambians forget about tribal politics we can move this GRZ forward.

  20. Solar panels have helped ZESCO meet a few demands. Do not be cheated. Survey the market and you will know the truth. That is no starter info. MMD do not raise your elbows its too early.

  21. Power projects are not like promising Development in 90 DAYS, Power projects are major engineering projects that require many US$ and commitment and a group of sobber politicians not PEOPLE LIKE SATA and FR BWALYA., to complete a project like KARIBA, you will need five intakes from Trades school, 2 intakes university School of electromechanical Engineering not forgetting surveying and civil Engineering.

    Most Importantly, No BANK IN ZAMBIA can commit such money cos the CAPITAL is required is HUGE. not forgetting the time it takes, say something like 8 -20 years to complete.

    The CONGO RIVER CAN supply power to Africa alone, but you need 20 years to complete this project. Not forgetting Capital and GOOD political environment.

    Please KEEP POLITICAL SCIENCE away from ENGINEERING

  22. Prior to 1991, Zambia had excess power because many households had no supply and the industrial base was shrinking due to a failed socialist system. The Kafue Gorge project built by the Yugoslavs was seen as an overkill investment destined to become a white elephant.

    The liberalization policies of the MMD brought about an increase in industrial development through Foreign Direct Investment. Liberalization brought demand for power in rural areas. Today, rural electrification and the increase in investment in industry have resulted in a huge demand for power which all the power stations in Zambia put together, cannot satisfy.

    Today, because of increased FDI, Zambia is now embarking on the much needed Kafue Gorge Lower power station project in order to increase output by another 700MW+.

  23. The Kafue Gorge Lower Project will cost Zambia between US$1 to 1.5 billion which the country does not have. It will have to borrow from Western nations, who have a stake in the Copper Mines in Zambia. Not only have western nations been asked to buy back the mines after they were run into the ground but they are now being asked to fund social projects as well as infrastructure development.

    This makes investing in Zambia more costly than other countries. Then you’ve got the likes of Sata who don’t understand this because of lack of education and they want to nationalize the mines after over US$5 billion has been invested in them.

    Sata thinks the Western investor and his country will just pull out without putting up a vicious fight!

    He needs to learn from the Zimbabwe experience.

  24. Zambia has embarked on a journey and we cant keep cutting it short because we dont see immediate benefits. Zambia needs to finish the journey by increasing FDI and building more power stations to feed the new industry (MFEZ). These will in turn create employment and reduce poverty thus putting every Zambian in gainful work.

    It is premature to quit when you are half way to the finish line.

  25. It took Kaunda almost 25 years to build the infrastructure that the country has, unfortunately there was little upgrade and maintenance, it was run down. Roads, Schools, Factories, Hospitals, Power Plants ect. So do not expect any government to come in and repair everything in 5 years. Five years is just for mobilizations and planning. whilst you are planning on your desk, you will be told that your five years has finished, back to politics and the cycle continues.

    For this country and other African countries to see development we need a stable government without politics for at least 15 years, Democracy is costing African countries development.

    I strongly feel this is the reason the WEST was pushing for Democracy in African Countries so they don’t develop at list they will be…

  26. # 28 betters
    I totally agree with you. This westren democracy is a double edged sword for Africans. Then we have the likes of Sata who wants plot #1 at any cost. Even some of these seemingly educated guys on this blog advocating change even if RBs GRZ is doing ok just what change for tribal reasons or just change for the sake of it, just change the goverment, no reason , just change it. Can you imagin the costs involved starting from recalling all foreign missions and replacing them, by the time the new GRZ puts in all their pipo it is time for change again. Why ? just for the sake of change, even if the GRZ at the time is performing. I still belive if all Zambians forgot what tribe they are and got behind this GRZ with constructive critisicim, we can develop.

  27. # 18 – 20 youthful citizen….what a clever young man you are .

    # 28 betters …… I agree with you in part . Good observation though .
    That’s why , in principle , the idea of a ‘ one party participatory democracy ‘ is not a bad idea at all for a developing africa . The MMD , though have had continuity in government , albeit with different presidents , for a time long enough for them to have planned for major infrastructure .

  28. Guys another thought, how many Political Parties are there in the USA, I am told that there are only two, plz correct me if i am wrong.

    How many parties are there in Britain, I guess the number is not like here pa ZED, But you get these guys encouraging and funding more and more parties to help disunite Africa, They don’t even want to here things like African Union to make sure that African continues to be divided so that there children and Grand Children will have a place to sell goods to and a place to get raw materials from

  29. Friends, those who desire change at all cost must learn from great leaders like Mandela. Service 1st then plot 1 and others follow. Leaders who make Plot 1 a priority may not be the best to grow our economy in the current situation. Decisions at plot 1 are complex and there are always competing factors. “To look for simple explanations is the bias of the human brain, but it does not correspond to reality. Nothing is ever staright forward as it apears” Mandela said. Zambians, we must be carefull not to make mistakes. Governance is not as simple as explained to cheering crouds at markets.

  30. #24 thot u said its takes 8-20 years to built a power station like KARIBA but MMD has been in power for close to 20 years are the power station.Wan KK left power we had over 600,000 in formal employement now its close to 300,000.In Luapula my area the roads that are tarred are the ones KK left
    Kawambwa Tea is almost dead Munushi banana dead Mansa batteries dead.An its amazing u guys co us kapoyas wan ur party is always losing in areas with the highest concentration of learned people (lusaka,copperbelt).Even mumayandi polling stations like Nkwazi Primary Sata got over 70% even UNZA students voted sata .Mostly rural people who can be easily manuipilated vote MMD.

  31. Fellow bloggers, if we maintain Rupia in Office, we will be an African tiger in the next five years, if we are foolish enough to elect another PF like Zimbabwe, in the next five years we will be the greatest laughing stock in Africa.

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