Page 9 - AfrElec Week 47 2022

COAL
AfrElec AfrElec

Zimbabwe accused of selling

coal rights too cheaply

ZIMBABWE ZIMBABWE’S government has been accused “I only discovered recently that some of the
of selling off mineral rights cheaply after accept- more valuable reserves have been ‘sold’ to out-
ing $100,000 from a local firm for a 25-year coal siders for utterly impossible peanut amounts,”
exploration and mining licence over a high-po- he said.
tential acreage in the west of the country. “Our resources are still being plundered by
Lokalize Investments (Lokalize), linked to several ‘contract miners’, and other parties, none
prominent businessman Billy Rautenbach, used of whom have made any investment, whatsoever.
to own the asset, which it lost it in 2015 but has Also, there is no proper control or monitoring,
now recovered it, local weekly the Zimbabwe on the ground, of what is happening.”
Independent reported on Friday (November 18). Rautenbach’s company Green Fuel enjoyed
When Lokalize lost the rights to the Western a government-sanctioned monopoly in the
Areas licence, estimated to hold 750mn tonnes of supply of ethanol, used for mandatory blend-
coking and thermal coal, Hwange Colliery Com- ing with petrol from 2011 to January 2022. He
pany Limited (HCCL) assumed ownership. The was personally sanctioned by the US and Euro-
state has a 37% shareholding in HCCL, which is pean Union from 2008 to 2014 for his financial
listed in London, Johannesburg and Zimbabwe. support to former Zimbabwe president Robert

Nicholas Van Hoogstraten, with a 30% stake Mugabe.
in HCCL through Messina Investments, told Rautenbach did not respond to the Inde-
the Independent that the “assets belonging to pendent’s questions over the sale, nor did the
HCCL” were sold at low prices to investors over minister of mines, Winston Chitando, or the
the past four years at a time the firm has been administrator.™
under reconstruction.

Kibo Energy renews Mbeya

MoU in Tanzania

TANZANIA KIBO Energy has signed a renewed memoran- framework of collaboration and cooperation to
dum of understanding (MoU) with Tanzania enable the design, development, financing, con-
Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) in relation struction, commissioning and operation of the
to the development of the Mbeya power project Mbeya project and its associated infrastructure.
towards agreeing and concluding a power pur- The draft deal sets out clear guidelines, deliv-
chase agreement (PPA) between Tanesco and erables and timelines for the conclusion of a PPA
Kibo subsidiary Mbeya Power. and related implementation agreements, accord-
The Mbeya project is Kibo’s initial flagship ing to the publication. The renewed MoU also
energy project, based in Tanzania, where the provides Kibo an opportunity to reintroduce the
AIM-listed company plans to build a 300 MW project into its development plans, specifically
steam-powered power station in alignment with alongside its new biofuel initiative.
the Tanzanian Power System Master Plan, Min- “We are particularly excited to embark on
ing Weekly reports. this process and to also introduce our biofuel
“We are delighted to see this robust flagship approach for evaluation as a possible substitute
project revived. The renewed MoU provides fuel source for the project,” Coetzee said.
Kibo with an exciting opportunity to resume If proven feasible, he said, the project “will
cooperation with Tanesco in making a contribu- convert the project into a carbon neutral project
tion towards addressing Tanzania’s extensive and which in itself could have far-reaching impli-
urgent energy needs,” commented Kibo Energy cations for similar utility-scale projects in the
chief executive Louis Coetzee. Southern Africa region”.™
The MoU aims to establish a general

Week 47 23•November•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P9