The Zambia Consumers Association (ZACA) has charged that the Government’s decision to ban the issuance of permits for the Production of charcoal amid load shedding is a good decision that has come at a wrong time when people are desperately looking for other sources of energy.
Recently, the Government through the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment banned the issuance of permits for Cord- Wood used for the production of charcoal in Mumbwa Itezhi Tezhi and Shibuyunji Districts of Central Province, until further notice due to the unprecedented levels of deforestation in the country.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times -ZBT, ZACA Executive Secretary Zuba Sakala said that the government could have imposed the ban some years back unlike imposing it when the Country is grappling with load shedding where most people are depending on charcoal as one of the easiest and most affordable sources of energy.
Sakala said that unlike being proactive, the Government is rather being reactive to the current situation.
He noted that if the government had applied proactivity some years back, people could have found other alternative sources of energy.
He further emphasized that the ban of import permits for the production of charcoal amid load shedding will increase the cost of charcoal in that charcoal production will go down while it’s demand will go up.
“The problem we have as a Country is that we are reactive. This ban would have come 3 to 4 years ago but we have decided to impose it now when we have another problem of load shedding where we know that people will run for charcoal as one of the easiest sources of energy. So being reactive is another problem,” he said.
“The government could have been proactive 4 years ago and people could have already found another alternative but as the situation stands now it looks bad but it’s a good decision coming at a wrong time when people are desperately looking for other sources of energy. On the issue of charcoal being expensive following the ban of import permits on charcoal production the possibility is there because the charcoal that will be coming will be coming in a few,” said Sakala.
Meanwhile, According to the Zambian Living Conditions Monitoring Survey, the major sources of energy consumed at the household level in Zambia are firewood, charcoal, and electricity.
Over half (54.3%) of all households in Zambia use firewood as their main fuel for cooking, while 28.7% use charcoal and 16.8% use electricity.
This means with the onset of load shedding households that relied on the use of electricity for cooking will now now have to rely on either firewood or charcoal.
And with the ban of the issuance permits for the production of charcoal in Mumbwa Itezhi Tezhi and Shibuyunji Districts of Central Province amid load shedding, it is anticipated that the production of charcoal will go down while the demand will go up.
And when this happens, the cost of charcoal will also go up meaning that people will have to spend more money to buy charcoal at household level amid load shedding or find other alternative sources of energy that are in most cases more expensive.
