President Hakainde Hichilema has called for the maximization of the Kafue River’s potential to generate power.
President Hichilema who today undertook a guided tour of the Kafue Gorge Lower Hydro Power plant in Chikankata district of Southern, said the Kafue basin’s natural endowment of water is one which must be utilised fully for the country.
“Before the Kafue River gets to the Zambezi River, we can generate more power, at least up to 2000 megawatts” he implored.
The President also commended Zambia and Chinese cooperation which has led to the completion of the hydro power plant.
President Hichilema further applauded the local community in Chikankata district for allowing their natural environment to be utilised for national good.
The Head of State said it was pleasing that the local people in the area have allowed the project of the hydro power plant to be erected in the Kafue basin for the benefit of electricity to the entire country.
And Minister of Energy Peter Kapala said the completion of the project is evidence that public private partnerships can deliver sustainable development.
Earlier ZESCO Managing Director, Victor Mapani said the company is committed to developing electricity production in the country
“Since the lenders stopped releasing funds to the project in 2019, ZESCO has released over 500 million to ensure expansion in the sector is sustained,” Mr Mapani said.
At the same event, two protocols of sanitary and phytosanitary requirements for the export of soya beans meal and stevia from Zambia to China were signed.
Minister of Agriculture Mutolo Phiri used the occasion to announce that the government will buy a minimum of 100 metric tonnes of maize and the price had been moved from K150 per bag to K180 per bag.
He also announced that the Government, through the food reserve Agency, will buy over 1500 metric tonnes of Soya Beans at K11 per kg.
The Minister assured the farmers in Southern province that the ministry will set up satellite points in local communities to ensure proximity to the farmer and that the signing of the soya beans export agreement between Zambia and China will increase production of the crop in the country.
Zambia is sticking to hydropower with very little diversification. A true drought year will be a disaster: not only Kariba will have to restrict power generation but also Kafue lower gorge. Loadshedding will be expressed in weeks rather than hours. We need expansion of the energy mix.
@ # 1 we have a lot of water in Zambia
Parents be careful with the names you give your children. Names have a strong meaning. See now we have a ichilema in power. Handicapped guy who has failed to do anything he promised. Fuseke in advance to all the upnd cadres who will comment
No corruption, very true
Ba LT, Why don’t you publish my posts?
@ # 1 we have a lot of water in the northern parts of Zambia which is eventually lost to the Congo River in the DRC.
In fact VP Nalumango who is currently in India can request for assistance from them to inter-Link rivers( mainly Luapula River and Kafue River)
India has invested over $9 billion in linking major rivers in the flood prone nothern areas of India to rivers in the low rainfall southern parts of country. Such a project will not only boost our current hydropower resources but also supply more water to the drought prone farming areas in the Central and Southern provinces in Zambia.
This is far cheaper and faster to operationalize than building a new dam and power plant on the Luapula River. What would be needed simply is to add more turbines at the existing…
existing Itezhi Tezhi and Kafue lower power stations.