Kambwili Outlines NDC’s Proposed Energy Sector Reforms
NDC leader Dr Chishimba Kambwili has outlined his party’s proposed energy sector reforms on a Facebook post on Friday.
Dr Kambwili promised to tackle Zambia’s energy crisis by reforming the petroleum product market, building renewable energy infrastructure, and reforming hydro-electricity generation.
Dr Kambwili promised to tackle Zambia’s energy crisis by reforming the petroleum product market, building renewable energy infrastructure, and reforming hydro-electricity generation.
According to Dr Kambwili, Zambia’s most severe problems regarding energy procurement and distribution stem from the petroleum industry and the government’s poor taxation policies.
Zambia suffers the highest cost of cost of fuel and other petroleum products of all countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional bloc.
Similarly damaging, Zambia also has the highest levels of taxation within the SADC mainland states, creating a two-fold bind on energy consumers.
He writes that an NDC government would create ‘a transparent procurement system for crude oil […to] reduce the supply chain costs by cutting off middle men’. The NDC also hopes to lower taxes for crude oil to ‘rationalize’ the price for consumers.
Dr Kambwili further outlined that Zambia could be protected from the fluctuating international oil price by developing their own oil reserves. These, Dr Kambwili hopes, would supply the country with fuel for 8 months in times of drastic price change.
The party leader also reaffirmed his party’s commitment to the Paris Climate Treaty directives, by outlining his vision for increased green renewable energy infrastructure.
He writes, ‘NDC’s aim is to ensure that rural areas have electricity from renewable sources as first line source of energy which should account for about 70% per cent power sources. These include; solar, wind, biomass, hydrogen fuel cell and geothermal.’
Finally, Dr Kambwili promised to reform state-owned power company Zesco, by removing cadres and banning nepotism. These reforms are to be paired with an increase of hydro-electric infrastructure, such as dams and hydraulic facilities.
