Zim to pay US$70m for Batoka

The payment is expected to end a standoff that had stalled co-operation on the Batoka power project.
Secretary for Energy and Power Development Mr Justin Mupamhanga told a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy on Monday that Zimbabwe had agreed to pay US$70,8 million early next year.

“Zimbabwe is still keen on the Batoka project and discussions were held over the past two months to try and have a meeting of minds,” he said.
“Zimbabwe will pay a principal amount of US$70,8 million. The parties have agreed that Zimbabwe will start paying in January (2012).”

Payment of the principal amount, outstanding for over 20 years, is expected to start in January next year, to be spread over three years.
The two countries previously shared the Kariba Dam’s assets through the Central African Power Corporation during the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

The corporation was dissolved in 1987, seven years after Zimbabwe’s independence.
Capco’s assets were shared equally.

But Zambia felt Zimbabwe had benefited more from the share-out, although Zambia had contributed more towards the construction of the vital Kariba North, than Zimbabwe.

For years, Zimbabwe had repeatedly insisted it had contributed as much as Zambia towards the development of Kariba North.
But a specialist audit later proved otherwise.
As a result of that audit, Zambia was unwilling to implement the bilateral accord for a 1 600-megawatt power project at Batoka on the Zambezi River.

The decision to pay was arrived at during meetings between Energy and Power Development Minister Elton Mangoma and his Zambian counterpart.
Zimbabwe was initially to have paid US$70,8 million with interest. But Minister Mangoma told his Zambian counterpart his country could not raise the money because of a decade of economic turbulence.

Mr Mupamhanga said Zimbabwe would pay the principal, excluding interest. But it was not clear how the country would raise the money.
This concern was raised by Mr Edward Chindori- Chininga, the chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy.

He questioned Zesa’s capacity to restitute Zambia when it was struggling to clear a US$102 million bill for power imports from the region.
Zesa is saddled with a US$515 million debt from its historical liabilities and the unpaid bills for power imports.

The power utility’s customers owe it US$480 million from years of unpaid bills.
Developing Batoka into a fully functional hydro-power plant would add a combined 1 600MW on to the national power grids of the two countries.