ZESCO Limited has picked and awarded Zimbabwean and South African companies to supply and deliver 9 and 12 metre wooden poles.
About USD107million was set aside to purchase wooden poles to dismantle over 67,000 outstanding connections.
At its procurement committee meeting held on 2nd June, 2022, ZESCO picked as the best evaluated bidders;
1. ZAR 66,306,175.00 Timber Quality Timbers of 16 Impala Street, Industrial Tzaneen, Limpopo Province.
2. USD 2,824,145.00 Capital Timber Ltd, Standard Number 5986, Nyakameta Industrial Site, Mutare, Zimbabwe
3. ZAR37,249,400.00 – R & B Timbers ( Pty), Main Bizana Road,, Harding KwaZulu-Natal Natal Province, South Africa
4. USD 1,298,172.00 Hotspeck Enterprises (Pty)limited, Stand 6020, Nyakamete Industrial Limited, Mutare, Zimbabwe.
5. USD 1,129,715.00 -Border Timber Limited, 1 Aberdeen Road, Nyakamete Industrial Site, Mutare, Zimbabwe
6. USD1, 169,690.0 Vuka Timber (PTY) Limited, No.1. Main Road, P.O BOX 45,Commondale 2385, Mpumalanga, South Africa.
Meanwhile, Energy Minister Peter Kapala says the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) has cleared ZESCO over its decision to procure wooden poles from Zimbabwean and South African companies.
Mr. Kapala says the use of Limited Bidding procurement method by ZESCO to acquire the treated wooden poles was within the law.
He explained that ZESCO relied on Section 42(2) of the Public Procurement Act No. 8. of 2020, which states that, when there is an urgent need for the goods, works or services and engaging open bidding would be impractical, limited bidding procurement method would be used.
And the Energy Minister has disclosed that local suppliers, like ZAFFICO still have running contracts to supply ZESCO with poles provided they have the capacity, their poles will be absorbed by ZESCO promptly and paid for.
He further notes that the local Zambian manufacturers of poles did not need to join the issued tender as their supplies were already being bought and the tender was meant to bring in additional poles.
“At the height of debates about the procurement of poles by ZESCO for its connection programme, an impression was made that Zambian businesses were being ignored and the priority was to get poles from outside the country. What was not being truthfully said was that local suppliers, like ZAFFICO, had (and still have) running contracts with ZESCO and as long as they had the capacity, their poles would be absorbed by ZESCO promptly and paid for.,”
Mr. Kapala said the local Zambian manufacturers of poles did not need to join the issued tender as their supplies were already being bought and the tender was meant to bring in additional poles.
“When ZESCO issued the tender, it needed about 150,000 poles to clear all connections that are pending but it only issued a tender of 40,000 poles to be sourced from Zimbabwe and South Africa. This meant that the remaining 110,000 could be filled by Zambian entities where these existed and had the requisite capacity or even other foreign entities depending on capacity and timing and also cost. The plan is to have the least cost in buying the poles by cutting off middlemen and getting the poles from from producers.”
“Our first quarter commitment and plans to ensure all 67,000 pending connections to ZESCO are cleared by the end of this year (by 31st December 2022) and to have universal access (100% coverage) to electricity for our people by 2030 is unwavering. Dismantling of this backlog of connection applications is ongoing and am happy to say we are getting there. More than 7,000 connections have already been done through standard connections and the remaining ones are construction connections that need poles and/or transformers and other materials. A number of construction connections have also been done.”
He said, “Additionally, while the talk was that ZESCO was not acquiring ZAFFICO poles, ZESCO and ZAFFICO had meetings to discuss the supply of poles. The exchange of ideas occurred at board level with ZESCO Board Chair Mr Vickson Ncube meeting his counterpart at ZAFFICO in the company of ZESCO MD Eng. Victor Mapani and other members of ZESCO senior management.”
“It was therefore not surprising that, last month (in May 2022), the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) cleared ZESCO over its decision to procure wooden poles from Zimbabwean and South African companies, stating that the use of Limited Bidding procurement method by ZESCO to acquire the treated wooden poles was within the law. ZPPA Director General Idah Chulu said that ZESCO relied on Section 42(2) of the Public Procurement Act No. 8. Of 2020, which states that, when there is an urgent need for the goods, works or services and engaging open bidding would be impractical, limited bidding procurement method would be used,” Mr Kapala said.
“In the energy sector, we insist that Zambian companies come first in procurement. However, this will not be done for political expediency. Parastatals will not be abused by politics like before. Strategic objectives of institutions will be respected so they deliver for our people. Our people deserve better and someone has to care. And we care.”
A Parent who takes away a plate of food from his children and then gives it to his neighbors children this a big shame next elections let south Africans and Zimbabweans vote for you.
We are living in a competitive world that hinges on value for money, uncompromising quality and fit for purpose product and delivery efficiency.
Zaffico our own child, though with potential can hardly meet these competencies due to historical lack of good management regimes over time.
Obviously as our poles are for light transmission only plus we dont have the numbers
But why do we keeping discussing this LT ??
The explanation is clear. Right now there are people who have been waiting to be connected for over 5 years. This is meant to dismantle arrears. The only thing in can say is lets as Zambians go into Agro Forest and grow these pols.
………………..where are the promised jobs.There’s mass unemployment here.More jobs for outsiders…..This is the
wisdom of doing buzns………………. Are the homes of communities going to be privatised?
Deforestation is key!*its a great balance.
*Lets not look at the money factor alwayz,but the devastation that this could potentionally bring to the country if that much Timber was to be harvested only in Zambia.
I always had a tough time trying to tell my friends in PF that the PF was wrong in this and that….. things never change. Five years is a long time for someone not to be connected. We have new townships springing up in Kitwe and people are getting connected except those who can’t raise the fees. Where was Zimbabwe and South Africa those last years? Have Zesco just discovered these countries? I know some diehard tribalist will bring in the PF…..we never heard Zesco even suggest the importation of poles as a solution. These are the cases that the next Government will be trying to prosecute.
This is unfortunate.
Am sure even the additional poles can being supplied by local suppliers.
This has nothing to do with whether this was according to the law. Its about empowering our own people. How can you give away usd 100million while at the same time we don’t have a lot USD on the market. Let’s think carefully. This is why we remain undeveloped
Moderation moderate post.
Very sad I indeed. To develop a country we need to make tough decisions.
What a useless government….
Maybe it’s one of the IMF conditions
The PF are too used of being middle men……….
Doing nothing but adding on no less than 40% to the costs ……….
They don’t want to produce anything, just want to be middlemen ………..
ZESCO is telling you to produce , and they will buy at the right price………
Lazy theiving parasites …….
Like Congolese, the PF ……….
All they want to be is middlemen……..
Production is too much hard work for them………
Adding on to the cost is their speciality……..
Go and work and produce , you lazy fu.ckers ………..