Mozambique Energy: Zimbabwe’s debt to EDM increased by over 50%

The debts of many years that the Zimbabwean producer and distributor of electrical energy  (ZESA, the acronym in English) owes to EDM – Electricity of Mozambique continues to increase. In fact, the @Verdade newspaper found that between 2015 and in 2016 it grew by over 50%, yet EDM does not discuss the power cut to the neighboring country.

During the last financial year the ZESA debt went from just over 400 million meticals, to December 31, 2015, to 614 533 595 meticals, according to EDM Annual Report.

To collect these debts which are not new, have been accumulated as long as the economic crisis worsened in the neighboring country over the past decade, the Mozambican government set up a commission which includes members of the government due to the political implications that it entails.

However, the various meetings the committee held only “resulted in some paltry payments,” the Director of Economy and Finance of EDM, Geta Remigio Manuel Pery told @Verdade.

“Alternatively, the Commission is assessing the possibility of ZESA – ZTDC make payment of the remainder in cash, ie, electrical equipment especially for power distribution transformers, as the EDM has reported the lack of such equipment and the ZESA holding company has a factory of the same”, Geta clarified in an interview by e-mail exclusively to @Verdade.

Clearly there are no plans of suspending the power supply to Zimbabwe as the annual report that the @Verdade had access also reveals that the expected revenues from ZESA were earmarked as guarantees for two loans that EDM contracted to the French Agency For Development (AFD).loan of 48 million French francs to strengthen the center system and another 60 million French francs for the interconnection between Cahora Bassa and Zimbabwe.(Source: AVerdade)