Water authority lays out growth plan
THE Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) has launched a five- year strategic plan for the period 2020-2024 aimed at strengthening the operation of the joint owned water resources along the Zambezi river basin.
The five-year strategic plan which was launched via virtual meeting yesterday was formulated through wide consultations and would guide the operations of the organization in the next five years.
ZRA board chairperson, Dr Gloria Magombo, said the authority was a unique organization connecting Zambia and Zimbabwe in their quest to promote socio-economic development.
She said the five-year corporate Strategy would underpin the performance of the firm in response to its mandate of managing the Kariba dam complex and the Zambezi river stretch.
Dr Magombo said the strategy was formulated through wide consultative participation of both internal and external stakeholders and would replace the 2015/2019 strategic plan which ended in December 2019.
“The formulation of the current Corporate Strategy further involved a review of past performances and consideration and implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG),” she said.
She said the aim of the new strategic plan was to improve the Zambezi river basin management objectives.
This, she said, would contribute to the economic, social and ecological goals of the authority.
Dr Magombo urged management to fully implement the plan to ensure energy security for the two neighboring sister countries.
“This will be achieved through five interdependent values anchored on the concept of “Safety” throughout the operational value chain system in dam and water resources management,” she said.
Dr Magombo said the board expected experts to deliver the Corporate Strategy through honesty, integrity, professionalism and respect.
And giving an overview of the Strategic goals under the plan, ZRA director of Finance, Edward Kabwe said there was need to increase water storage volume on the Zambezi River Basin catchment from the current 181 billion cubic metres to 182.65 billion cubic meters.
He said demand for electricity in Zambia and Zimbabwe was projected to grow to 6 713MW and 6 344 respectively, hence the need for the two countries to ensure the successful implementation of the 2 400MW Batoka Gorge Hydro-Electric Scheme project.