By Own Correspondent- Government remains committed to solving fuel and electricity shortages through engaging the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) on long-term financial mechanisms, Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune Chasi has said.
Speaking at the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority’s ISO Quality Management Standard Certification celebrations in Harare, Chasi said the financial mechanisms had already been formulated and were awaiting implementation.
He said:
“The Government remains committed to eradicate fuel queues and is working on long-term financing mechanisms with the RBZ which will see the supply gaps being eliminated over time.
“We are working closely with the power utility to ensure that there is increased power generation from different sources other than Kariba Power Station.
“As a new minister, I expect to see results and strategies that resolve some of the challenges and proposals to restructure the sector for a better performance.
“We are not an oil-producing country not by choice but by geographical location yet we need fuel to run our transport system,” he said.
Speaking at Kariba North Power Station on Thursday, Minister Chasi said they were also exploring electricity trade-offs with Mozambique.
The trade-off proposition seeks to leverage on abundant water in the Cahora Bassa Basin following Cyclone Idai, amid fears that the continued discharge of large volumes of water during generation at Kariba South and North power stations was causing flooding.
Coupled with prioritisation of demand management, Minister Chasi said the country would significantly reduce the electricity import bill in the wake of depressed supply from Kariba, Hwange, Munyati, Bulawayo and Harare thermal power stations.
“We need to understand the source of the problem that our counterparts in Mozambique are facing as a result of Cyclone Idai on the generation side of electricity,” said Chasi.-StateMedia