By Online Desk |  1 month ago | top

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has granted the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) Holdings a greenlight to continue billing exporters and partial exporters in foreign currency, to enable the power utility to pay for electricity imports, spare parts or critical equipment, foreign loan repayments and foreign insurance premiums among other obligations.

The greenlight followed an initial six-month window period which expired in December last year. This comes as government steps up efforts to end current power challenges, through the adoption of a raft of measures aimed at increasing local power development that in turn, is expected to ensure the country achieves its national goals.

Zimbabwe is currently facing acute power shortages which have seen consumers going for long hours, outside the normal load-shedding periods, without electricity.

The situation, caused by frequent breakdowns at Hwange thermal power station, has been compounded by water shortages in Kariba dam which provides the bulk of Zimbabwe’s electricity supplies.

The extension is contained in a statutory instrument of a government gazette published recently in terms of the Exchange Control Act.

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