
Gibson Mhaka
THE Cabinet has considered the urgent need to address the country’s persistent electricity supply crisis, which is hindering the nation’s progress towards its Vision 2030 goal of becoming an upper-middle-income society.
The report on measures to enhance Zimbabwe’s power supply security was presented by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube, as Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee established to analyse the issues.
In his post-Cabinet media briefing on Tuesday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere said in order to attain the Vision 2030 aspiration of an Upper-Middle Income Society there is need to enhance the supply of electricity to cater for the continuous growth of the economy, especially in the productive sectors.
“Presently, there is a deficit of up to 400 megawatts in local generation capacity. The country currently imports 200 to 500 megawatts to cover the shortfall.
“Despite now charging a cost-reflective tariff, the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa), still faces challenges which negatively impact its ability to deliver on its mandate of providing electricity to the nation. Accordingly, the Cabinet approved a raft of measures to enhance the country’s power security,” said Minister Muswere.
He said the structural challenges are being addressed by the Mutapa Investment Fund in a process involving bundling or merging of some entities under Zesa Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, as recommended by an independent consultant who was commissioned to undertake the task.
“This will result in a more simplified and efficient governance and management structure. Supply-side interventions include rehabilitation of Hwange Units 1 to 6 under a Build, Operate and Transfer arrangement which is set to commence this year.
“The Mutapa Investment Fund is also putting in place measures to cater for the foreign currency requirements of Independent Power Producers. To address the low uptake of net metering from solar-generated electricity, ZESA has been specifically directed to promote the facility and streamline the pertinent procedures and requirements in order to increase uptake.
“The loss of electricity during transmission is being attended to through the establishment of a joint venture between ZENT and QLV for the manufacture of cables, and in dealing with theft and corruption,” said Dr Muswere.
To enhance revenue collection, Minister Muswere said Zesa has been directed to speed up installation of pre-paid meters in order to effectively deal with debtors, while the Mutapa Investment Fund is establishing a foreign exchange discount facility against the Zesa debtors’ book to meet the current creditors.
“Investment in research and development involving Zesa, ZENT and institutions of higher learning for the local manufacture of various parts of power generation and transmission equipment is being promoted.
“Implementation of the foregoing measures will go a long way in enhancing Zesa’s capacity to deliver on its mandate of providing electricity to the nation,” said Dr Muswere.
The Cabinet also adopted a report on the rebuilding of the Mbare Traders’ Market in partnership with the private sector, which was destroyed by fire on 8 October, 2024.
The report was presented by the Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Engineer Daniel Garwe.
“In the wake of the fire incident at Mbare Traders’ Market on 8 October 2024, Cabinet received and adopted the Report on the
Re-Building of the Market in Partnership with the Private Sector, as presented by the Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Honourable Engineer Daniel Garwe.
“Following the incident, which affected 4 695 traders and income generation capacity worth millions per day, His Excellency the President, Cde Dr E.D. Mnangagwa, declared a State of Disaster at the Market. The declaration will facilitate appropriate response measures to the incident.
“Pertinent to note is that similar fire incidences have been recorded at other markets in the City of Harare, with the primary causes being use of highly combustible materials and lack of fire-prevention infrastructure. The Harare City Council does not have the capacity to address the incidents,” said Minister Muswere.
He said the Government has to intervene and is promoting private sector participation to complement its efforts.
“Accordingly, Cabinet approved the engagement of a leading engineering, construction and development company to partner the Government in re-building the Mbare Traders’ Market, under a Design, Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Finance (DEPC+F) model.
“This model will ensure that high-quality facilities are completed and commissioned within the shortest possible time. It will also allow traders to resume operations in an orderly environment that facilitates formalisation and payment of taxes. The model can and will be replicated to upgrade other similar markets across the country,” said Minister Muswere.
He said that, in the meantime, the government would provide necessary livelihood and social assistance support under the disaster management framework to help the affected traders cope with their immediate difficulties.
Additionally, the framework would address longer-term sustainability and resilience-building mechanisms for traders