Zimbabwe likely to receive uninterrupted power

amount agreed with the Mozambican firm for it to receive improved electricity imports.
The development should bring relief to industrialists and farmers who were considering abandoning winter wheat production owing to erratic power supplies.
Zesa now owes HCB US$31 million.

Energy and Power Development Minister Elton Mangoma said the money was paid this week.
“We have transferred US$45 million and we are working hard to ensure that the debt is cleared. We were supposed to have cleared the debt by April 30, but we managed to do that two weeks later and the last amount was transferred this week.
“Although I cannot give you the date when the debt will be cleared, I can tell you that efforts are under way to ensure that it is cleared soon,” he said.

The money was sourced from platinum mining companies Mimosa and Zimplats.
Minister Mangoma said reducing the debt would see the country receiving improved supplies from Mozambique.
“This will have a positive impact as far as power supply into the country is concerned,” he said.

Zesa tried to mobilise the funds through massive disconnections, but the response from domestic and commercial consumers failed to address the matter.
Domestic and commercial electricity consumers owe Zesa about US$550 million.
Most residents, especially in high-density areas, are going for almost 10 hours daily without power.
With the onset of winter, the country’s power deficit slightly increases as power demand rises.

Zimbabwe requires about 2 200 megawatts daily but generates only 1 300MW.
The remainder is met through imports from Mozambique, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The country is getting 25MW from Mozambique.

Zesa has also come under fire for its poor debt management system that has seen it failing to recover money owed by customers.
Industrialists said Zesa would find it difficult to offset debts unless it implemented the prepayment system.
Zesa has no clear debt collection strategies other than disconnections.

There was also a landmark ruling last week by Labour Court President Loice Matanda Moyo that some companies were free to enter into agreements with workers not to pay them when there is power outage.
She, however, also said that those with capacity to absorb the costs were free to pay full salaries despite the outages.