Financing energy sector key to economic development

SUCCESSFUL financing of developmental projects such as hydropower plants require a willingness to invest and dream to grow the sector for the future.

Developing both social and economic infrastructure improves not only the quality of people’s lives; it also opens up the country to the outside world, and allows trade and commerce to flourish.

In Zimbabwe, our energy sector largely relies on hydropower.

With rising demand due to economic activity, the construction or expansion of a new hydro-power plant is vital to provide much-needed power to the nation.

The power supply shortfall is evident to all.

New energy sources such as hydro or solar power come with the promise of reduced loadshedding and economic, social and personal benefits.

We have the potential to generate thousands of megawatts of power, well above the current 1 080 megawatts installed capacity.

This potential can be achieved only if there is increased public and private sector investment in infrastructure development.

Government should be determined to provide infrastructure to facilitate economic activities that support GDP growth and improve socio-economic opportunities in the country.

When you put up a power plant, you generate not only employment directly through construction and operations at the power plant, but you also create an industrial base around the plant that exploits the energy being produced.

This creates a multiplier effect where new businesses emerge, resulting in fresh employment opportunities for local people.

Building power plants also means the country’s power supply improves and a reliable power supply is key to sustainable development, because it creates a conducive environment for investment.

If we are to achieve our dream of having an industrialised economy, we need to have sufficient and reliable power, hence the need for improved investment in the energy sector. Steady energy production is a key component of sustainable development.

It is time we enhance our electricity generation capacity as a country, to diversify our sources of energy and build open access to reduce dependence on a single one like Kariba.

With the extensive power generation pipeline earmarked for development and opportunities being realised in developing alternative energy supply, we can also build the capacity to sell into the Southern African Power Pool.