Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
THE Council of Ministers of the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) has said it is considering alternative sources of energy such as solar as back-up in light of perennial low inflows into the Kariba Dam.
The Council of Ministers and ZRA are bi-lateral co-operation arms for Zambia and Zimbabwe on the management of Kariba and the construction of the US$4,5 billion Batoka Gorge Hydro-Electric Scheme (BGHES) project which is still at planning stage.
Speaking at the 37th ZRA Council of Ministers meeting in Victoria Falls on Friday, Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune Chasi and his Zambian counterpart Matthew Nkhuwa acknowledged low water levels on the Zambezi River saying this affects energy production.
“In terms of water situation, climate change is real and you can see the effects even in the falls that this is a real situation. We can only hope that the river will fill up soon,” said Minister Nkhuwa.
He said the Kariba Dam, also being rehabilitated by ZRA, needs three rainfall seasons to fill up. At present it is 57 percent full.
“Yes, solar is an option but alone it is not a solution.”
He said while the amount of water falling down the Victoria Falls has been subdued because of climate change, there have been significant inflows lately.
Minister Chasi concurred.
“The hydrological situation at Kariba continues to worsen and we need stiff planning going forward in so far as generation of power is concerned. We need a good mix of energy sources and as countries we are looking into a variety of these. We are however not moving away from hydro power because this is critical,” Minister Chasi said.
The weeklong meeting started with technical teams from both countries discussing and ended with a Council of Ministers meeting attended by Ministers Chasi and Nkhuwa, Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube and his Zambian counterpart Ng’andu Bwalya. Attorney Generals and Permanent Secretaries from both countries also attended alongside ZRA officials.
Minister Chasi took over the rotational chairmanship of the council for 2020.
The meeting reviewed some of ZRA Acts and relevant labour laws to allow for, among other issues, collective bargaining between ZRA and Zambia Water Sanitation, Engineering and Allied Workers’ Union, update development of the BGHES, state of affairs at the Kariba Dam, discuss ZRA budget for 2020 and strategic plan for 2020-2024 as well as the impact of ZRA corporate social responsibility programmes for displaced communities.
The Council stated that progress has been made in the engagement with the project’s developers.
The tender was awarded to a consortium of Power Construction Corporation of China Limited and General Electric of United States on a build, operate and transfer financial model.
Both parties are working on a Memorandum of Understanding. The meeting also approved ZRA’s budget of US$81 million for 2020 whose main expenditure will be rehabilitation of Kariba Dam and preparatory work for BGHES.
The project will generate 2 400MW of electricity to be shared equally by the two countries and feed into the regional grid. Zimbabwe’s demand for power at its peak periods stands at around 1 400MW yet the country’s internal general capacity is just above 1 000MW. — @ncubeleon.
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