Sisala has failed to run Zesco, says HH
By Mutale Kapekele
Tuesday March 11, 2008 [03:00]
UPND president Hakainde Hichilema has said Zesco managing director Rodney Sisala has failed to run the company and should resign. In an interview on Saturday, Hichilema said Sisala should accept that he has failed to run Zesco. “The honourable thing to do when one fails in the corporate world is to resign and give way to people with new ideas to take over,” Hichilema said. “The power outages are devastating the economy when Zambia is not supposed to be one of the countries affected by the power deficit.”
He said the power outages were a reflection of the bad management of the country by the MMD government.
Hichilema also charged that Zesco and the Ministry of Energy were aware of current power deficit more than five years ago but failed to put measures in place to cushion the impact.
“It was announced more than five years ago that the region was going to experience power deficits,” he said. “If Zesco had paid attention to its infrastructure and maintained it, Zambia would have been supplying electricity to the whole region without problems. Now we have 50 per cent of the company’s revenue going to paying of salaries as opposed to the industry standard of 30 per cent, which is extravagance.”
He said if Zesco was properly managed, the 20 per cent ‘extra’ on salaries should have been used to maintain equipment.
Hichilema said the excuse given by the government and Zesco that the power outages were as a result of system failure was ridiculous since they had years to plan ahead.
“We should be bold and say Mr Sisala, you have failed,” he said.
Hichilema said it was unacceptable for and tragic Zesco to be producing 1,400 mega watts of electricity when it could produce around 1700 mega watts.
“This country has a potential to produce 3000 mega watts if power stations are set up in Luapula, North Western and Northern provinces. If the government allowed the private sector to partner with Zesco, we should have had all that by now.”
“With the necessary freedom and support, the private sector could have made a success of the Zambia Tanzania inter-connector but they gave it to Zesco, who have already demonstrated failure, in the tendering process.”
Hichilema said people could not afford to wait for years for the power outages to end and that the government must shorten the time of the power outages which are projected to continue until 2013.
He said an emergence plan should be put in place soon to mitigate the impact of the power outages.
Last month Sisala told the expanded committee on estimates that Zesco was not entirely be blamed for the current power outages being experienced in the country as the problem was regional.
Sisala said stakeholders should not put the blame on Zesco Limited for the current power deficit as the growth in demand for electricity was not expected to be far much higher than the earlier projections.
“The level of demand for electricity has gone up tremendously over the years. This is not only in Zambia, or Angola, Malawi, Botswana; it is a regional problem because of the huge investments that are going on in different economic sectors,” Sisala said. Sisala also said the solution does not lie in having him fired.
Labels: HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, RODNEY SISALA, ZESCO
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Sisala explains Zesco's failure to pay dividends
By Joan Chirwa
Friday December 14, 2007 [03:00]
ZESCO Limited will start paying dividends to the government once its profitability levels are raised, managing director Rhodnie Sisala has said. Sisala said the power utility was currently not making enough profits to guarantee a dividend to the government owing to major rehabilitation projects undertaken as well as low electricity tariffs being charged.
He was commenting on finance minister Ng’andu Magande’s statement that investments maybe withdrawn from parastatals that were not paying dividends to the government as a shareholder.
“We have not been paying dividends to the government of late because of what is going on in the electricity industry, particularly what Zesco Limited has embarked on to try and rehabilitate and up-rate some of its equipment at different power stations in the country,” Sisala said. “This venture costs a lot of money.
We have spent millions of US dollars so far on the rehabilitation project and we are still undertaking major projects around the country to try and have a higher electricity generation capacity that can meet the increasing demand for power in this country and the region as well. Am sure you are aware that part of our equipment is currently not working because we have to rehabilitate it.”
Sisala further said Zesco, which had one of the lowest tariffs in the region, was making huge losses from charging below average fees for electricity in the country.
Zesco has already submitted an application to the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) for an upward adjustment to both domestic and commercial tariffs by between 45 and 70 per cent.
A public hearing was recently convened where, urging the power utility to review its proposed tariff rates, consumers said the magnitude of the proposed increment was not acceptable.
“Once we have our tariffs revised and the rehabilitation projects completed, we will return to profitability and that time, we will have no reasons for not paying dividends to the government as one of the shareholders of Zesco Limited,” Sisala said. “For now, what we are saying is we need to work on our returns through the revision of tariffs and complete the rehabilitation of equipment at various power stations across the country.”
Magande on Wednesday said it was unprofitable for the government to maintain its shares in parastatals that had not been paying dividends to it as a shareholder.
He said very few of the several parastatals in the country were paying dividends to the government, when the investments made were worth trillions of kwacha.
Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ), another parastatal in the country, said the institution would first study Magande’s statement before stating its position on the matter.
And Zambia Telecommunications Company (ZAMTEL) managing director Simon Tembo could not comment as his mobile phone was constantly out of reach.
And Zambia State Insurance Corporation (ZSIC) yesterday said its delay to pay dividends to the government was not deliberate but as a result of the nature of insurance business.
ZSIC managing director Irene Muyenga said insurance was a probability business as the corporation has had to settle huge claims recently to KCM and BGRIMM Explosives, making it difficult to pay a dividend to the government.
She however said the payment of dividends to the government was part of the corporation’s business plan for the coming year.
Labels: DIVIDENDS, RODNEY SISALA, ZESCO
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Mpombo washes his hands...I stopped CEC sale
By Amos Malupenga
Saturday September 22, 2007 [04:00]
Former energy minister George Mpombo yesterday said he stopped the negotiations for Cinergy Corporation to sell their shares in CEC because the government did not agree with certain issues. And Zesco Limited managing director Rhodnie Sisala has said that although he is a shareholder in the Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC), he does not participate in its management.
Reacting to The Post challenge for him to tell the nation what he knew about the sale of 77 per cent shares in CEC to a consortium of Zambians, Mpombo – who is now defence minister - said he tried as much as possible to protect the interest of Zambians at the time he dealt with the matter in his capacity as energy minister in 2005.
“And all I can tell you is that by the time I left the ministry, we had called off discussions with Cinergy because we could not agree on certain issues,” Mpombo said. “This was after a high-powered meeting we had with officials from CEC and other investors. I personally instructed the then permanent secretary, the late Mr Geoffrey Mukala, to write to Cinergy to explain that negotiations had been called off because I was mindful of the government position on this matter. I don’t know what happened on this issue after I left Cabinet.”
And Sisala said it was not a secret that he held 0.6 per cent of shares in CEC.
“But I don’t sit on the board neither do I participate in the management of CEC,” he said. “So I don’t influence anything.”
Sisala said the three percent shares were offered to senior managers in the Power Division of ZCCM during the privatisation of the mines in 1997. He said the senior managers included himself, Humphrey Mulela, Aaron Botha, Hanson Sindowe and Charles Milupi.
“They sold us the same shares so we could assist the new buyers of the company in running it,” Sisala said.
He said it was incorrect for people to even associate him with the Zesco/CEC bulk power purchase contract which enables CEC to purchase Zesco power at heavily subsidised rates for onward transmition to the mines at huge profits.
“Those contracts were signed in 1997,” Sisala said. “I was not in Zesco at the time. Those agreements were between ZCCM and Zesco before CEC bought that.”
And commenting on rumours that he was being shielded by President Mwanawasa in his position because he holds shares in CEC on his behalf, Sisala said the rumours were malicious.
“I bought those shares long before President Mwanawasa went to State House. And I didn’t buy these shares as an individual, we bought as a group,” Sisala said. “So how do these shares become shares for the first family? That’s not correct. People are just being malicious.”
And sources at the Energy Regulations Board (ERB) revealed yesterday that Cinergy decided to pull out of CEC after a contract to build a 250 kv power line from Kitwe to Kansanshi Mine is Solwezi was given to Zesco.
“CEC had lobbied heavily to be awarded this contract,” the source said. “But as ERB, we went round the country collecting people’s views on this matter. And clearly, many people felt that Zesco, a local company needed to be supported and was given the contract especially that they had capacity to do that. This hurt Cinergy and they decided to pull out by way of offloading their major shares in CEC.”
And a former CEC employee yesterday praised Sisala as a patriot who protected local companies and employees.
“Many people might not know this but Mr Sisala recommended to government that CEC was a very viable and profitable institution which did not require to be sold,” the source said. “His friends were annoyed at this recommendation and they did all sorts of things to undermine him.
Finally, those whites came in and indeed Mr Sisala was vindicated because they declared dividends within a very short period of time.
But these new owners harassed employees through unnecessary retrenchments. Mr Sisala still argued that CEC was a viable company which did not need to retrench employees. Some of us even sued CEC when they did not give us our dues.”
Labels: CEC, GEORGE MPOMBO, RODNEY SISALA, THE POST, ZESCO
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Zesco workers protest over perks
By Sandra Lombe
Tuesday August 21, 2007 [04:00]
ZESCO workers in Lusaka yesterday staged a sit-in, demanding the removal of managing director Rodney Sisala, salary increment and improved conditions of service. But Zesco spokesperson Monica Chisela said it was unfortunate that the workers had resorted to strike before management and the union concluded negotiations.
The workers that had gathered at the construction plant near Government Printers, also placed a placard at the gate, reading 'Zesco image is being dented by Sisala, rescue us from this embarrassment'.
The workers that sought anonymity for fear of victimisation complained they had worked for over 10 years under the construction department, without being confirmed. They demanded a salary increment of K1 million across the board.
"We have not had any salary increment for the past five years," they said.
They said among the unionised casual workers, the least paid was getting about K250,000 and the highest K320,000.
"Our salary usually delays, we get our salary usually after two months. How do we pay rent and feed our families," they said. "The salary difference margin with the highest management worker is about K50 million."
The workers said they would only return to work after they were addressed by Sisala.
"He (Sisala) has never met us, we only see him in the papers and on TV. We don't know him," they complained.
"We want him to address us, but since we are told he is out, Buleti Nsemukila should address us."
They complained that they did not have equipment and material to do their work, a situation they said had affected their service delivery to the clients.
"We don't even have service cables. We have over 500 clients on the waiting lists waiting to be connected. We have not provided good service for the past two years," they said. They said some of the workers that had suffered burns during the course of duty were still casual workers. However, the workers said they would only resume work after Sisala addressed them.
"We appeal to President Mwanawasa that he should help us and not protect Sisala.
When there was a fuel crisis Mpombo was demoted what about Sisala. Zesco is finished," one worker who also said he missed Dr Kaunda's era said. The workers demanded that the true cause of the blackout during the SADC meeting be told to the nation.
"How can a lizard cause power blackout. It should be explained. Its just the Zesco services that have gone down and are poor," they said. But Chisela said the workers should return to work and wait for the outcome of the meeting on August 31, 2007.
"It is very very unfortunate that our colleagues have resorted to strike before management and their union can meet," she said. "They should have waited since they don't know the outcome of that meeting. The union leaders are dully elected by the members and they can represent them effectively. Hope they could go back to work."
Chisela also said not all workers could see Sisala as he was at times represented by some other members of staff. She said the issue of casualistion was being looked into so that jobs could be formalised.
However, she said the strike had affected the company but could not give the extent.
Labels: RODNEY SISALA, ZESCO
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