A recent survey by the World Bank on supportive infrastructure in our Economy showed a clear negative rating for electricity supply. The same negative rating held for our telecommunication services.
Almost all sectors of our Economy view electricity supply and telecommunication as obstacles to their operations, and certainly as below the regional average. In addition, we fared very badly in the region on frequency and duration of electricity outages, as well as on distribution losses which is worse than Sub-Saharan African average of 15 percent by nearly ten percentage points. The Ministry of Energy and Energy Development and units under it must address this area of great concern, including ensuring that the management of the national power grid is more efficient. We have just availed utility vehicles to Zesa. These must make a difference. We must also step up efforts to stamp out vandalism on electricity infrastructure.
In the area of energy consumption, I would want to see greater energy efficiencies across the board. This is a function of the level of technology in use in our Economy.
Our current rate of 2.5kWh per USD2011 (PPP) can be improved so our use of power per unit of GDP is more efficient. The same also holds for how much carbon we emit per every unit of energy we use. More critically, I want to see greater power consumption in rural areas, in keeping with population density in that sector, and of course our goal of industrialising our rural areas and mechanising our agriculture. It is embarrassing that access to clean fuels for cooking is well below 30 percent of our population. This puts huge pressure on our flora, particularly in rural areas were firewood continues to be used.
Indicators for provincial GDPs must show energy statistics, principally electricity generation and consumption. We must continue to de-centre sources of power needed to move provincial economies by exploring more ways for local power generation. That way we are likely to diversify our energy and electricity mix towards low-carbon sources. Provinces thus need to draw up energy generation plans and strategies.
I have already indicated we will embark on universal primary education next year. This goal has an energy component to it; more so in view of our ambition to introduce ICT in all schools. Our rural electrification thrust must thus pick pace, alongside reliance on solar in schools.
Lastly, we are intensifying irrigable agriculture nationally in order to lessen our dependency on erratic rainfall, and to ensure greater agricultural activity in dry seasons. This places enormous demands on our power utility, which must brace up for a dramatic surge in demand for this key enabler from our agricultural sector. My expectation is that our energy authorities must plan to stay ahead of national demand for power.
This means reading trends for energy needs across key sectors of the economy, and planning accordingly.
This week I am paying a working visit to the sister Republic of Mozambique. In the coming weeks I am likely to meet President Hichilema of Zambia in Livingstone. Both sister countries supply us with power. I will engage my colleagues with a view to ensuring our power imports are secure and uninterrupted.
There is thus no need for panic or for individual arrangements by corporates. Government will ensure that our economy’s energy needs are fully met, both through internal power generation and through gap-filling imports.
However, the upside of the current power shortage is the rapid growth of our economy. This is something worth celebrating as we search for ways of plugging any gaps in power supply.
By President Emmerson Mnangagwa for the Sunday Mail
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