Maravi

LETTERS - Miners, Zesco, Markets

'Axed' Chambishi miners
By Raphael Mukuka
Saturday March 08, 2008 [03:00]

Whilst I do not condone riotous behaviour, I sympathise with the Chambishi miners who have been dismissed for the recent strike and the aftermath that ensued into a riot, destroying the mine’s property. There are two sides to the story though the only one being portrayed is the violence exhibited by the miners. First, the miners are working under poor conditions. Secondl, the negotiations over their conditions of service have prolonged without answers in sight.

Chambishi mine has been a source of concern for a long time now and the unions, together with the government, must have helped the poor miners obtain decent wages and improved conditions of service. Mining is a very hard job with many risks and the workers deserve more than what they are getting. If you work as a miner in a developed nation like Australia even at the lowest level, your wage cannot be lower than $1,000 per week. I’m not saying that a miner in Zambia can get the same wage as the one in Australia but they surely deserve decent salaries.

China has become the biggest importer of mineral ores all over the world due to their huge demand and this has raised mineral prices on the world market. Miners in Zambia also should benefit from this demand as the mines are accumulating enormous profits. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be in Zambia.

Whilst these talks go on for months, the workers still pay union fees on their low wages and as such, we need to create a system that works faster and better for the members in involved. For the workers to react the way they did, the problems must have existed for a long time. Zambians by nature are not violent people and for them to riot simply means they had lost hope in the system and took the action as a last resort.

Let’s face it, how many dialogues and good procedures have brought answers to the workers’ plight in Zambia? The owners of Chambishi mine are happy that they can intimidate their workers because not many people will be ready to fight for what is theirs after this incidence.



http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=38754

Zesco power outages
By Senior Manager Marketing & Public Relations - Zesco
Saturday March 08, 2008 [03:00]

Please refer to a letter by a concerned citizen published in this column on Tuesday 4th March, 2008.

The Citizen indicated his support for demonstrations over the power outages and further stated that the power shortages we are currently experiencing were predicted about 10 years ago and that the growth in demand has been gradual, giving us the opportunity to timely invest in new generation capacity.

We agree that power deficits were projected many years ago. However, no investment went into these plans due to changing policies. The government made a decision to privatise all state-owned enterprises and in consultation with other multilaterals, it was agreed that the economy was to be driven by the private sector. This is why the government created the Office for Promotion of Private Power Investments (OPPI) under the Ministry of Energy and Water Development.

Years passed and there was no investment coming from the private sector into the power plants. The government then decided that Zesco should develop Itezhi Tezhi and Kariba North Bank Extension. In the meantime, a lot of time was spent and lost debating on who should develop the projects while the electricity demand grew. While this was going on, Zesco as a public utility took a proactive role by embarking on the Power Rehabilitation Project. Rather than just rehabilitating the power plants, the plants were up-rated to increase their output. The up-rating will add 210 megawatts to the installed capacity and give some relief to the national electricity supply.

That notwithstanding, the energy sector has been liberalised, meaning that private investors who meet the set requirements can invest. However, despite this enabling environment created by the government, there has been low enthusiasm for investment in the sector. One constraining factor cited still remains to a large extent the un-economic tariffs.

The uneconomical tariff is a double edged sword. On one hand, it hinders those in the sector to effectively invest in maintenance and expansion and efficiently meet customer needs and creates unfavourable financial position to attract lender financing. The uneconomic tariffs also hinder prospective investors, especially those from the private sector whose survival is dependant on profitability from entering the sector. On the other hand, low tariffs attract investments into the country as we have seen from the mining, agricultural and industrial investors who have come in the country.

A company can invest using money from its reserves that it accumulates from its operations. In this case, the price at which electricity is sold should not be lower than the cost of production as has been the case. If the price is less than the cost, the company will continuously make losses hence hindering it from investing further.

A company can also invest with shareholder capital, and as has been already reported, the Government of the Republic of Zambia has indicated its preparedness to assist Zesco with finances to invest in increasing its generation capacity, a move that must be commended. A company can also borrow funds to invest with the expectation of realising enough returns to pay back the loans.
Inciting the public to demonstrate against power outages will not yield any tangible benefits.

Educating the public on using energy efficiently is more beneficial. The nation should focus more on what can be done to mitigate the power shortages and not creating more problems. People aspiring for public office must use their influence to bring about positive change and not fan anarchy at the expense of development. Issuing statements that send a message of chaos and hopelessness to the outside world, particularly those who have intentions to invest in the sector, will only damage the reputation of Zambia as a favourable investment destination that others are trying hard to build and sustain.

Load shedding does not discriminate against anyone on any basis other than technical and security considerations that can’t be compromised simply to appease a section of people. It is worthwhile to note that the current power shortage is a culmination of a number of factors to which all stakeholders must learn from and prevent future occurrences. Personal attacks and finger pointing is not the answer but harmonising and pooling experience, expertise and resources towards addressing the issue is what the people need.

The concerned citizen can contribute positively to the debate on load shedding by using energy efficient lighting, which saves 80 per cent of energy, switching off his/her geyser from 19:00 to 21:00 hours which will save him/her 50 to 70 per cent of the electricity bills. If we do this as individuals, communities and indeed as a nation, we can substantially reduce the amount of load shedding .
Monica Chisela (Mrs.)


http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=38753

Northmead Market
By Northmead resident
Saturday March 08, 2008 [03:00]

Allow me space in your paper to express my disappointment with the events at Northmead market. The market is being run like an animal farm in which marketeers have no say on the affairs of the market.

The so called MMD chairman has been treating people like he is running his home. On Tuesday he hijacked the electricity project in which he is not a member and has no shop to use electricity. Efforts to involve the council have failed.

It seems the amended local gvernment Act on markets and bus stations is being ignored by these MMD cadres as they do things their way. This is a work place and not a political arena. My appeal to Lusaka City Council is to restore sanity at the market.I also ask other wings of gorvernment to come in the ACC and DEC.

Labels: MINERS, NORTHMEAD MARKETS, ZESCO

posted by MrK @ 3:33 AM