Mr. Mutati says this is because the project which will generate 2 thousand 400 mega watts of electricity will be internationally sponsored.
The minister of finance says Zambia will in February next year host an international conference aimed at convincing investors to invest in the Batoka Hydro project which needs about 3 -point-six-billion U.S Dollars.
He said this at the 34th Council of Ministers Meeting held in Victoria Falls Town, Zimbabwe.
And Zimbabwe’s Minister of Finance and Economic Development Patrick Chinamasa expressed happiness at the relationship between Zambia and Zimbabwe especially in the energy sector.
Meanwhile, the Zambezi River Authority Council of Ministers has approved an operational budget of 89 million dollars for 2017, with Zambia and Zimbabwe pledging to continue cooperating in the development of the energy sector.
And Minister of Energy David Mabumba says the Zambezi River Authority should start looking beyond Lake Kariba in its investments involving Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Mr. Mabumba who is the Incoming Chairperson for the Zambezi River Authority Council of Ministers said it is important to look at alternative sources of energy to sustain the economies of the two countries.
He said when Zambia and Zimbabwe diversify their energy sectors, they will eventually stop importing electricity and steer economic development in the neighbouring countries.
Mr. Mabumba also said the Zambezi River Authority will make progress in the rehabilitation of the Kariba Dam Wall during 2017 and that 3-hundred and 94 -million dollars for the project has already been secured.
And the outgoing Chairperson of the Zambezi River Authority Council of Ministers, Samuel Undenge announced that the construction of the Batoka Hydro Power Station will start next year as the feasibility studies for the project are almost complete.
I have little confidence in this man
Finance Ministry should have gone to a whiteman
Genetically Blacks have a flaw in them making it easier to steal than whites
Finances if a country would have been better off being in Guy Scott
Thanks
BB2014
Mushota, this is irritating and annoying, why Guy Scott, he just being a Republican president months ago. Why not Charlotte or Dipak Patel, because they are not MMD?
This PF government is desperately jumping from one project to another just so as to be able to access fresh money they can embezzle. What happened to the Euro bond money and all those impressive projects they had put on paper? Everything appears to have fizzled-out. The money walked away, disappearing in thin air before our very eyes. And now the country has nothing to show for it.
Let me TRANSLATE this for LT readers —
“Minister of Finance Felix Mutati says financing the Batoka Hydro Power Station project will not affect the 2017 national budget”….
Means — Zambia has borrowed TEN BILLION US DOLLARS and it has all been squandered and STOLEN by PF, so we are now beggars that have to plead with the West to give us some money as we cannot even afford to pay for the day to day running of our own country. Batoka Hydro Power Station project is now shelved as we cannot pay for it, and that is why we have not even put it into the BUDGET!
Please all start tracking these lies for 2017…….for those doubters how many times where we told that we shall never go above the debt GDP threshold by this Government? and we ended up way above it ….. this is a government borrowing from the central bank for “operations”….. now he is even mute on the Balance of Payments support ????
Mediocrity at the highest rank. Visionless Ed’Dagama said there is no need to invest in electricity, but there is abundance to buy from South Africa.
PF bandits, today this one yaps the way, yesterday another said contrary & tomorrow someone else will yap another thing. PF ni njala. Dununa backwardness.
When will PF bandits ever wake up from their visionless kanshi mwebantu? Never!
Mutati going out of budget when the economy is in a crisis is more njala. Stick to the budget ba recycled MMD taking over PF buffoonery.
The Skeleton Key
~206~
So if this project is “Internationally sopnsored” that means we dont own it!!
Is that a file photo or was the german ambassor there.
This minister is falling into the a serious trap. He is running commentaries instead of working. And everybody knows that ministers just parrot anything. Work quietly but things are seen happening – advice
@jay jay it just means more loans…
It wont affect this budget because its another big loan….Mutati has nothing to lose he is MMD President
The president says we dont need to build new power stations but buy from sourh africa. The finance minister says he wants $3.6bn to build Batoka.
Agriculture Minister Super Dora says FISP is a failed project but the president says deliver inputs within seven days. Who is running the country? Are there any cabinet meetings to put everyone on same page? Chanda Kabwe is dealing with worms eating maize but Siliya is Shopping and cutting her nails in Dubai.
The next “CABINET MEETING” will be held in 2012 when the globe trotting drunkard that thinks he is President returns to Zambia to organise the next stolen election.
Until then the country is on a non-functioning autopilot to ensure looting of borrowed money by PF continues at full speed.
2021
Goverment of borrowing from morning to night, 365days. How many unplanned projects is this govt going to start? Only PF knows how much poor they will make this country by the end of this experemental style of managing national matters.
Is that a file photo or was the german ambassor there.
We’ve been hearing this lie for the last 50years. It’ll just be another conduit for PF to steal Govt money. The only projects PF can execute are Chinese roads projects. Money comes from China & the contract is awarded to a Chinese contractor who wires the money back to China.
Batoka-Hydro cannot be implemented especially working with Zimbabweans with their pomposity, superiority complex & crocodile accents.
Just look at how they’ve dominated at Zambezi-River-Authority.
February meeting is AIMED at CONVINCING investors.. no convincing no power…… Why do we go toZimbabwe instead of them coming to us…
Travelling allowances and per diam ???
Just wondering if you are on the same page as ECL who said we don’t need to generate our own power becoz we can import from SA.
this is a clear reflection of illiteracy about 3 -point-six-billion U.S Dollars. l have never heard of such a figure in the history of Journalism
Finance Minister, Felix Mutati has met with German ambassador Achim Bukart to discuss strategies of financing and technically support Batoka Hydro Power Station project, which is expected to resume early 2017.
According to Zambian authorities, the project will generate 2400 Megawatts of electricity and will not be funded using monies from the 2017 national budgets from both Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Speaking on the sidelines of 34th Council of Ministers Meeting held in Victoria Falls Town, Zimbabwe, Mutati said Zambia
In a separate engagement Zimbabwean Minister of Finance and Economic Development Patrick Chinamasa, said the infrastructure will contribute to the growth of both economies adding that it will strengthen bilateral relations
Zambia and Zimbabwe agreed that diversifying…
LTA, which school did your reporters go to? Surely, you can’t write amounts of money correctly? This is outrageous!
Who told you that there are trained journalists at LT? These are boys who failed grade 9 exams and are only hearing stories on the streets and post them as news. Sometimes they paraphrase articles from post mast papers and due to poor editing skills and grammar they end up distorting the original meaning.
There is something wrong with these guys who are pretending to be solving the energy crisis in Zambia. The main reason why Zambia is experiencing power shortages is because of the drought so logically the solution CAN NOT be another Hydro Power plant, period!! They need to think about alternatives like solar and more coal power plants.