According to the Central Statistical Office, the year on year inflation rate for the month of April 2019 has increased to 7.7 percent from 7.5 recorded in March 2019.
Dodia also mentioned that ZESCO’s proposal to increase electricity tariff if approved by ERB, will lead to the increase in inflation as it will increase the cost of doing business on the market hence affect the growth of the domestic economy in the country.
“There’s need to understand that ZESCO is not a profitable commercial entity but an entity created to support economic development in the country, so if ZESCO decides to increase the electricity tariff it means its not helping or supporting the growth of the nation because the 100% increase in tariffs will not only affect people’s lives at household level but also affect the business industry as prices in goods and services will also increase,” he said.
He added that the production of goods and services is facilitated through access to electricity, therefore ZESCO should never be looked at as a company whose sole purpose is to make a profit but a company that should support the growth of the nation by providing affordable electricity to people at an affordable rate.
He has however stressed the need by government to go back to the drawing board and re-evaluate the reason of turning public utilities and monopolies into commercial entities as they have potential to undermine the growth of the economy.
“Copying and pasting from other countries will not control situations in our country, as Zambia has its own unique structure and needs hence the need to look at Zambia as an independent country which has certain development needs that government institutions must provide,” he said.
Some members of the public and some former employees of Zesco have indicated that the utility has a bloated workforce, with low to non existent internal performance management. The argument is that with an efficient system, from generation, transmission and distribution, the utility can improve its cash flows and profitability matrices.
