By PRINCE MABUMBA
ENERGY expert, Johnstone Chikwanda has commended Government for shifting Zambia to the use of cleaner fuels through policy implementation.
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Dr Chikwanda observed that Sulphur diesel had been outlawed in the country, which was not good for health and the environment.
He also hailed Government for successfully converting the 1, 710kilometre from transporting co-mingled feedstock to refined low Sulphur diesel, a significant milestone in the cost reduction plan.
He says the government had also waived customs duty at zero percent instead of 25 percent aimed at protecting consumers from higher fuel pump prices.
Dr Chikwanda said to this end, Government had waived about US$300 million which could have been raised from consumers had this tax not been zero rated.
“Another achievement that the new dawn administration has managed to score in its two years of being in office is the completion of the commissioning of the remaining units at the 750mw Kafue Gorge Lower.
“This has been done using locally raised resources without recourse to the loan with previous funders while funding to Rural Electrification Authority (REA) has reached unprecedented levels by doubling the previous allocation of K360 million in 2022 to K740 million in 2023,” he said.
He said as part of decentralisation, local communities had been allocated a significant amount to decide on what to electrify from the Constituency Development Fund which he pointed out to be a notable development.
Government, Dr Chikwanda said, had also signed partnership agreements for renewable energy worth over US$7 billion, which was changing the energy topography of the country by focusing on other forms of energy.
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