Sun, 25 Jun 2017 10:25:50 +0000
By SANDRA MACHIMA
THE constituted board of directors for ZESCO, Energy Regulation Board (ERB) and Indeni Oil Refinery has come at a critical point when government is rolling out industrial wide reforms in both the electricity and petroleum sectors, says the Energy expert Johnstone Chikwanda.
Mr Chikwanda said the appointments had sealed the institutional corporate governance gaps in these important institutions, saying it was to the expectation of the nation that the appointees would move the institutions to their next levels.
He said Government made significant pronouncements regarding possible restructuring of some sector institutions apart from reforming the space in which they operated.
“Energy Forum Zambia wish to commend government for appointing boards of directors for Indeni and ZESCO, owing to it that Indeni has had no substantive board for a year and ZESCO has had no board since last year as well.
“The appointees have little time to settle down, and they have to hit the ground running, like was the case with the outgoing ERB board of directors for its dedication, commitment and contribution to the development of the industry,” he said.
Mr Chikwanda said the directors had presided during a very challenging period which included the phase when fuel and electricity subsidies had been removed and during continued excruciating energy poverty due to inadequate electricity.
He said the situation had improved in that energy poverty had reduced in severity, adding that the onus had remained to the new board of directors to take up from where their colleagues left and to try and come up with initiatives to increase the number of women and youth participation in the industry which was widely dominated by male.
Mr Chikwanda explained that it was still a challenge in that most licensees whether at oil marketing company level or transporters still remained dominated by men, saying somehow going forward, proposals may have to be considered with a view to strengthening the women and youth participation not just in the industry but also within institutions.
He noted that given the opportunity, women had demonstrated that they were able to meet and exceed performance levels of their male counterparts, as was the performance of the current woman leading the ERB.
