Zimbabwe faces power cuts over unpaid debts
Zimbabwe, whose economy has been hit by frequent power cuts, risks being cut off by regional electricity suppliers over $57 million in unpaid debts, state media reported on Sunday, dimming prospects of a quick recovery.
A new unity government formed by President Robert Mugabe and rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai seeks to raise industrial output, now below 20 percent due to shortages of foreign currency and electricity, to boost the economy after years of hyperinflation and contraction.
The country’s factories and mines have been hit hard by power shortages.
Zimbabwe imports about 35 percent of its power requirements from Mozambique, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but has regularly failed to pay for supplies.
The head of state power utility ZESA told the official Sunday Mail newspaper that Zimbabwe could soon be cut off if it fails to pay for power imports.
“The threat is very real that the suppliers have run out of patience,” ZESA chief executive Ben Rafemoyo is quoted as saying.
“If we do not pay, the consequences would be so dire. The danger is that the power that we are importing is being sought by other utilities and if we are cut off, wrestling it back would be a big problem.”
The Mail said ZESA owed Mozambique’s Hydroelectrica Cahora Bassa $40.3 million, the DRC’s SNEL $9.8 million, Zambia’s ZESCO $1.7 million, while power distribution company EDM of Mozambique was also owed $5.1 million.