…says President Hichilema´s spokesman Anthony Bwalya
5th Jan. 2023
Hopes for reduced hours of load shedding in Zambia have been dashed by President Hichilema´s press advisor Anthony Bwalya during an interview on Live Radio and Diamond TV.
Mr Bwalya also disclosed that President Hichilema will this month January yet again travel to Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates to ask for money for further investment in the energy sector and hopefully end the loadshedding he said he has already ended in one year.
“The President will be travelling to Abu Dabi and you will hear an announcement on further investment in the energy sector that has lacked investment in 60 years,” said Mr Bwalya.
According to the President´s spokesman, there has ´never´ been investment in the energy sector in Zambia in 60 years although Zambia will only be 59 years in October this year.
The truth, however, is that at independence, Zambia only had the Kariba hydro with a paltry power generation capacity of 700 MW built by colonial Britain and NO further investment between 1970 until 2011 when the PF assumed office under President Michael Sata contrary to Mr Bwalya´s wild claim and lie of 60 years.
The PF under President Edgar Lungu then ramped up power investment to a tune of more than US$4 billion and rising in the following power projects:
• Kariba North Bank extension 1080 MW
• Kariba North Bank 360 MW
• Kafue Gorge 750 MW
• Lusiwasi 12 MW
• Lusiwasi lower 15 MW Victoria falls 100 MW
• Musonda falls 10 MW
• Ithezhi tezhi 120 MW
• Maamba Coal 300 MW-independent Ngoye Plant 28 MW-independent
• Bangweulu Solar 54 MW-independent
• Ndola energy 110 MW-independent
• Lunsemfwa Hydro 56 MW-independent
This according to experts debunks Mr Bwalya´s claim that there has been NO investment in the Zambian energy sector in ´60´years before Zambia was even born.
Experts add that the power blackouts would have been a thing of the past if Zambia cancelled the energy exports in southern Africa signed under President Hichilema without consultation under what is called FIRM in technical business language.
What FIRM means is that if President Hichilema and ZESCO cancelled the power export agreements it has with Namibia or South Africa for instance, they would need to pay the two countries for NOT supplying the power at all as it would be a breach, as admitted by Mr Bwalya. The MoU has never been published.
“Its not possible for ZESCO and President Hichilema to cancel the export of power to neighbouring countries that should have not been signed at all if management was wise,” experts say.
Mr Bwalya said cancelling the agreements just to please Zambians would be like ´street business´ so Zambians just have to bear the load shedding brunt like “Fimba upoke” because it wont happen.
The Presidents spokesman also weighed in on the economy during his interview which he said was “killed” by the PF between 2011 and 2021 without giving facts or acknowledging the infrastructure success including massive investment in the energy sector in Zambia that now sees Zambia sitting at a generation capacity of more than 3000 MW for the first time invested between 2011and 2022.
Many are wondering why Mr Bwalya sees it fit to lie when energy figures in Zambia and what PF has done are public information.
President Hichilema who has publicly bragged that he had ended load shedding in one year has remained quite at his farm in Southern province.
The blackouts are the worst for the first time since Zambia attained independence 58 years ago, not 60 years ago as Mr Bwalya contends.
Mr Bwalya also blamed the PF for the high cost of living in Zambia currently saying life was worse under PF than under UPND and Mr Hichilema.
Source: Live Radio Lusaka and Diamond TV.