The Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) Limited will not reconnect the 330 kilovolts interconnectivity power line from Kariba power station to Zimbabwe until its reliability was assured, Kariba North Bank technical manager Wesley Lwiindi has said.

Mr. Lwiindi said ZESCO Limited would not switch on the high voltage power line connecting Zambia and Zimbabwe until a lasting technical solution was found.

He said the electricity company was hesitant to reconnect the line to Zimbabwe to avoid another countrywide power blackout.

In January this year, Zambia experienced a countywide blackout when the interconnectivity line she is sharing with Zimbabwe developed a fault.

He said this when a delegation of officials from ZESCO, the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Finance and National Planning inspected rehabilitation works at Kariba North Bank and Kafue Gorge power stations yesterday.

The delegation, which is led by Secretary to the Treasury, Evans Chibiliti, is on a two day tour of Kafue Gorge and Kariba North bank power stations.

Mr. Lwiindi however said ZESCO was holding consultations with the Zimbabwean power supply company over the matter.

He said the inter-power connectivity cable between Zambia and Zimbabwe would remain switched off until ZESCO was sure of its reliability.

“We are holding discussions with officials from the power company in Zimbabwe. We are actually also waiting for a report from these officials for us to determine how safe it is to reconnect this power line,” he said.

The rehabilitation works at Kariba north bank would be completed before the end of this year.

And ZESCO Finance Director, Moses Zulu, said once the power rehabilitation project was completed, the power utility company would increase its revenue by more than 30 per cent.

Mr. Zulu said the company was facing difficulties in raising funds especially that some customers have opted to use charcoal instead of electricity.

He has since appealed to defaulting customers to always pay their electricity bills in order to enable the power utility firm to continue operating at full capacity.

Mr. Zulu further said ZESCO was facing challenges of unfavourable tariffs given to it by the Energy Regulation Board (ERB).

He revealed that in 2006, the ERB refused to revise the electricity tariffs to give ZESCO.

Last year, the ERB allowed ZESCO a 16 percent electricity tariff increment, way below the 51 per cent which the company had applied for.

ZESCO is owed about K300 billion by its customers and has since embarked on electricity disconnection exercise from households in a bid to recover money, mainly the domestic users

And Mr. Chibiliti expressed happiness at the manner government, ZESCO and cooperating partners were intervening to resolve the power deficit Zambia and other SADC countries were facing.

Mr. Chibiliti said the government would continue to support the rehabilitation works ZESCO was undertaking.

“The single largest threat we are currently facing in our development is this power deficit. This is a matter of urgency. A solution has to be found and found now. I am impressed with the works being done and I can assure you that the government will support you at every point,” he said.

He said Zambia could not allow the current power deficit to disrupt its chance of developing, especially that the country was experiencing increased investments in various sectors of the economy.

Rehabilitation works of the Kariba North Bank and Kafue Gorge power stations would increase their generating capacity to 120 and 90 megawatts respectively.

Kafulafuta Member of Parliament (MP) George Mpombo has urged members of his constituency to diversify their agricultural ventures instead of depending on growing maize alone.

ZANIS reports that Mr. Mpombo said this during a public meeting at Munkulungwe basic school in his constituency yesterday.

Mr. Mpombo, who is also Minister of Defence, said diversifying farming activities would help people in the area to be self-reliant.

He explained that this year, people should not expect to receive food relief from outside Zambia because many regions in Africa and beyond were facing serious food shortages.

He advised people to prepare adequately for the imminent global shortage of food by farming assorted crops that they would depend on.

And speaking earlier, Munkulungwe ward Councillor, Brain Chisha, said the area needed a clinic, saying the nearest health centres were far away in Tag Argun and Kambowa area.

Mr. Chisha told the MP, who is on a current tour of his constituency, that there was need to improve the water supply system in the area, which is currently facing a serious water problem.

He said currently, communities of about 200 people were sharing one borehole.

Meanwhile, Munkulungwe basic school headmistress, Angela Mukuka, informed the minister that the school needed an additional K4 million to complete its electrification project.

Ms. Mukuka said the school had so far spent about K8.1 million on the exercise but needed additional funds to complete the project.

She bemoaned the high levels of vandalism at the school, which is currently running a vibrant banana project.
In another development, Mr. Mpombo has described the theft of the transformer at Kambowa as a major setback to government’s effort to develop rural areas in the country.

Mr. Mpombo wondered how a huge transformer could be brought down and carried without villagers noticing.

The visibly astonished and annoyed MP urged the people in the area to protect government property in the area.

And Masaiti District Commissioner, Joyce Nsamba, who is also in the Minister’s delegation, expressed disappointment at the theft of the transformer, saying it was a hindrance to government’s development vision.

Mrs. Nsamba said it was sad that some people had chosen to frustrate government’s efforts of development by stealing and vandalising equipment that were meant to benefit the public.

She further warned people in the areas against marrying off school going girls, adding that those that would be found practicing the vice would be prosecuted.

She also cautioned people in the area against excessive beer drinking, saying such activities would result in vices such as defilement and increased levels of HIV/AIDS.

The African Explosives Zambia Limited (AEL) has set up a US$6 million storage complex at Lumwana mine in Northwestern province as part of its operational expansion.

AEL managing director, Wayne Du Chenne, said that the company has taken advantage of the expanding mining opportunities in Northwestern province by setting up a complex that would service the mines.

Mr. Du Chenne was speaking today in Mufulira when Minister of Mines and Minerals Development, Kalombo Mwansa visited the company on a familiarisation tour.

He said works at Lumwana mine site has advanced and the company would start full operations in July this year.

He said another storage complex site would be opened in Lusaka which would complement the increasing demand of explosives by the mining industry.

Mr. Du Chenne pointed out that the investment climate in the country was favourable and it has enabled the company compete with other international companies.

“AEL Zambia, which is formerly Kafironda Explosives Company, is expected to grow by K2.2 billion per annum in product exports once the Lumwana site is operational. The current investment stands at K5.25billion,” he said.

And Dr. Mwansa commended the company for expanding its operations to Lumwana mine.

He also applauded the company for embracing government’s economic ambitions.

Earlier, Dr. Mwansa toured the new Malambo mine on familiarise himself with the new investment in Mufulira.

AEL Zambia is a company that manufactures explosives for the mining industry in the country.


By Tovin Ngombe
The Director of Commerce, Trade and Industry has disclosed that investment worth one billion USA dollars is expected to be pumped into coal mining and generation of power in Sinazongwe and Gwembe district in Southern Province.