By Mubanga Mubanga and Jane Chanda
The opposition Zambia We Want (ZWW) has demanded for the immediate halt to further reduction of the three hour power supply schedule that the country is being subjected to by Zesco.
And Kanchibiya Constituency member of Parliament Sunday Chanda says Zambia’s poor households are being left behind in the country’s energy journey, and urgent action is needed to provide affordable solar energy solutions.
In a statement issued on Sunday, interim chairman information and publicity Muhabi Lungu demanded that Zesco should operationalise the Namibia and Tanzania transmission interconnector as they promised.
He stated that if this is done, power supply could immediately be scaled back to at least 12 hours.
“In the short term, we therefore demand for a comprehensive strategic plan from the government and ZESCO outlining steps being undertaken to resolve the problem. Government must itemize immediate, medium and long term solutions,” Lungu stated.
He stated that it was unacceptable that many areas were going up to 48 hours without power supply.
“An official provision of power supply for only three hours in a day is totally unacceptable. This tragic state of affairs is compounded by the fact that in many areas, and all too frequently, communities sometimes go without power supply for up to 48 hours,” Lungu stated. “The absolute and grave negative impact on business, domestic consumers and the lives of ordinary Zambians is undeniable. The loss of productive capacity in our economy is staggering and has created enormous rigidities towards a quick recovery.”
Lungu stated that the government assured the Zambian people that once the Tanzania transmission interconnector issue was resolved load shedding was going to reduce, but had not happened.
“Government made assurances to the public that Tanzania had more than sufficient capacity to export to Zambia and that the Interconnector difficulties between Zambia and Tanzania had been prioritized. ZNBC and other public media organisations carried this information with a degree of unquestionable certainty,” Lungu stated.
“The country was further told that supply from Namibia was forthcoming and that the situation would improve as soon as transmission issues were dealt with. It was the hope.”
Lungu further stated that the government was sure that no political consequences would follow their inability to arrest the load shedding situation, because they were to blame it on the drought which affected the country.
“Given the constant excuses being provided by ZESCO, it is disheartening that the government has only paid lip service to this alarming state of affairs. Government has exhibited its incapacity to exert greater energies and creativity to arrest this deteriorating situation,” Lungu stated.
He stated that it appeared that the government was comfortable with the view that no political fallout would occur on the basis that a significant number of citizens had accepted the drought condition as the main cause of load shedding.
Lungu stated that this apparent comfort zone and belief by the government was not only irresponsible, but dangerous as it was naïve.
And Chanda in a statement yesterday, underscored the need for innovative financing models to make solar energy accessible to low-income families.
“The average cost of a basic solar home system is estimated to be around ZMW 12,000 to ZMW 20,000, far beyond the reach of many Zambians living on less than ZMW 1,500 per month,” Chanda stated. “We need to develop affordable, flexible financing models that provide poor households with access to solar energy, such as Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) solar financing, subsidized solar energy systems, innovative microfinance solutions, and public-private partnerships.”
Chanda highlighted the benefits of providing poor households with access to solar energy, including increased productivity, improved health and wellbeing, job creation, and environmental sustainability.
Chanda noted that the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) model had already shown success in other African countries, such as Kenya and Tanzania.
He explained that under this model, households would pay a fraction of the cost upfront, as low as ZMW 100-200, and the rest would be paid over a period of 3-5 years, making solar energy more accessible to low-income families.
He also stated the importance of subsidies for vulnerable households.
