Story by Davison Vandira

The government has set the 2023 economic activity in motion by pledging to avail adequate electricity as the industry re-opens from the annual shutdown.

Energy is a key enabler of all economic activities and with Zimbabwe pursuing an upper-middle-income economy vision by 2030, the provision of adequate electricity is a priority.

Speaking on ZBC’s Face the Nation programme this Tuesday, the Minister of Energy and Power Development, Honourable Zhemu Soda pledged the government’s commitment to overcoming the challenges that the country experienced at the end of last year through implementing a robust energy supply programme.

Honourable Soda noted, “As the Ministry of Energy, we have made significant preparations for the opening of the industry and we are on top of the situation even on the importation of power as well as the strategy to roll out alternative sources of energy which we want to give us about 1000 MW to complement our traditional sources of hydro and coal-powered stations.”

The Hwange Units 7 and 8, which will be commissioned any time this year, will add up to 600 megawatts of power to the national grid, with the government also expecting independent power producers to play their part and sustain the energy needs of the local industry.