ENERGY minister Makozo Chikote says he is confident that he is the right person to lead the energy sector in the country.
Chikote stated that he considers himself as a saviour of the sector for the fact that President Hakainde Hichilema had appointed him as minister of Energy.
“The president has the power to appoint who he wants to appoint, it can’t be disputed. Yes I’m a saviour. I’m going to lead the ministry of energy to respond to the challenges that are surrounding the energy sector. I’m the right person, that’s why I’m there. I’m confident, this country will not be the same. I’m moving with the rest of the nation,” he said on Diamond TV’s COSTA programme.
The minister added that he sympathises with the Zambian people for the current energy difficulties faced.
He assured the nation that by October 1, 2024, load shedding will have been stabilised which will lead to the nation going back to 17 hours of load shedding.
“I want to assure the nation that our hearts are with them. With effect from first October, we will be able to stabilise the load shedding. Maamba will be back, providing 100 percent of power it has been supplying, coming out of the maintenance.”
“We are going to have the power that we are importing, the fault we had through Namibian inter-connector, it will provide 160 megawatts.
This gives us the position to stabilise the power. We are going to go back to our 17 hours as we continue working towards bringing back the 12 hours.”
As for the long term solutions government is implementing, the minister stated that load shedding is likely to be a thing of the past 12 months from now.
“We are working around the clock to make sure that this load shedding is managed with long term solutions that after 12 months, we will be able to have stable supply of power. One season won’t bring back Kariba Dam but because of this other energy mix on board, we will be able to see the stability of energy,”
revealed Chikote.
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, September 18, 2024
