Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube said that the government will bail out heavily-indebted power utility, the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) to ensure that power imports from South Africa and Mozambique resume.
Ncube was speaking to ZBC News upon his arrival from the US-Africa Business Summit in Mozambique.
He revealed that government officials held fruitful talks with Mozambicans on power issues. He said:
The debt overhang affecting ZESA Holdings culminated into the Eskom and HCB discontinuing electricity supply but as Treasury, we are going to bail out the power utility so that it can pay its creditors to resume power imports.
We held successful talks with our Mozambican counterparts so that we establish how we can increase power imports and also create other synergies.
Zimbabwe is currently experiencing debilitating power cuts after its two neighbours significantly reduced power supplies because of nonpayment for electricity already supplied.
Energy Minister Fortune Chasi revealed recently that South Africa and Mozambique reduced power exports to Zimbabwe as ZESA now owes them a combined US$83 million.
Chasi went as far as saying Zimbabweans cannot expect free electricity as the country is not South Africa and Mozambique’s baby.