Chasi sworn in as energy minister

22 May, 2019 - 14:05 0 Views
Chasi sworn in as energy minister Minister of Power and Energy Development Fortune Chasi

eBusiness Weekly

HARARE – President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday swore into office new Energy and Power Development Minister, Fortune Chasi, following his promotion last week.
Chasi, formerly a deputy minister in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, too the oaths of allegiance, office and secrecy before the Head of State.
The new minister took over from Jorum Gumbo, who was re-assigned to the new portfolio of Minister of State for Presidential Affairs in charge of Implementation and Monitoring of government programmes.
In his nine months as energy minister, Gumbo had a love and hate relationship with the public as he struggled to ensure stable fuel supplies in the country.
Chasi’s takeover of the energy ministry, apart from fuel, immediately put him on the spot also as it coincided with the introduction of daily 10-hour load shedding by power utility Zesa Holdings, whose operations and ability to provide adequate power was seriously affected by low rains, which has seen production being cut at the country’s biggest hydro-power station, Kariba.
On Tuesday, the price of fuel shot up by about 50 percent following a decision by the Reserve Bank to cut subsidies to importers.
Chasi told journalists he would keep an eye on power and fuel to ensure stability and reliability in their provision.
“The first thing is that we must be very strong on the governance of the parastatals that are involved in power generation and fuel, which essentially means I am going to have an eagle’s eye on Zesa, a very critical parastatal,” he said.
“I want to ensure that all the boards (of directors for the parastatals)are sufficiently skilled, and that the boards are composed of women and men of integrity and experience, people that will give Zimbabweans and the market confidence that we have business continuity, and that power and fuel is going to be supplied on a continuous basis.”
Chasi said he would also focus on procurement issues, which have dogged Zesa Holdings for a long time, and ensure that the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority delivers on its mandate. – New Ziana

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