…as the IDC announces plans to restructure the state power utility company.
By OLIVER SAMBOKO
FEAR of mass redundancies has gripped Zesco employees following government move to engage a consultant to assess proposals for restructuring the company
Some workers spoken to, said rumours that part of restructuring of Zesco will involve unbundling the company, has instilled fear in them because it might lead to downsizing of the workforce and lead to redundancy.
They also said unbundling Zesco is not the best option at the moment considering that there are other routes the government can take to keep the company afloat such as removing political interference in the running of the company.
The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has announced that it wants to engage a consultant to undertake financial and operational restructuring of the country’s power utility company.
The IDC will also assess the proposal to unbundle Zesco into three separate entities namely, generation, Transmission and distribution.
The state power utility company currently has a total debt of $3.5 billion as at September 2021, and had between 2018 and 2019 made $400 million in loses owing to the depreciation of the local currency.
Meanwhile, energy expert Victor Hazemba says government should expedite the process of restructuring Zesco aimed at unbundling the power utility into three separate entities namely, Generation, Transmission, distribution to enhance its viability.
He said in its current setup, Zesco will continue making losses and be a burden to the people of Zambia who will be expected to subsidize the utility company through tax payers’ money.
Mr Hazemba said despite the state owned company scaling up its power generation capacity following the construction and partial commissioning of the Kafue Lower Gorge and Itezhi-Itezhi power stations, Zesco has continued to make losses because of a bloated workforce.
