Page 12 - AfrOil Week 26 2022

AfrOil PERFORMANCE AfrOil

Without electricity, some urban households are installed capacity of 1,520 MW.
forced to poach for firewood from nearby farms However, the Industrial and Commercial
while better-resourced ones resort to cooking Bank of China and China Minsheng Banking
gas. Corporation pulled out of a proposed coal-fired
It is estimated that Zimbabwe produces 1,100 facility in central Zimbabwe.
MW of electricity per day on average, while “We have licensed more than 90 independ-
demand stands at about 1,500MW. The deficit is ent power producers and the retail sector, like
covered by load shedding and importing power many other companies are doing, should take
from neighbouring South Africa and Mozam- lead in setting up solar mini-grids for its own
bique whenever foreign currency to pay for it is use,” Mataruse said, as quoted by The Herald. ™
available.
Given that funding for coal projects is dry-
ing up after China announced in September
2021 that it was halting financing coal projects
abroad, Mataruse said, the country will focus on
harnessing its solar potential.
Two units at Hwange colliery that are set to
generate a combined 600 MW by March 2023
were the last to receive funding from China in
2018. The two generating units at a larger gov-
ernment-owned facility received $1.5bn from
China Exim Bank.
An existing section has a nameplate capac-
ity of 920 MW so by the first quarter of the year
when the two units under construction come
online, the Hwange facility would have an LPG has become a more widely used cooking fuel in Zimbabwe (File Photo)

POLICY
Ethiopia’s government denies report of fuel

shortage amidst humanitarian aid delays

ETHIOPIA ETHIOPIA has denied a report by the Euro- Front, which started in November 2020, has left
pean Union which stated that a lack of fuel is many on the brink of famine. This March, Addis
preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid to Ababa announced a humanitarian truce to allow
Tigray, the famine-struck region in the north of aid into Tigray.
the country. According to the prime minister, the aid can
Speaking to Voice of America, a spokes- flow through freely, and the fuel crisis isn’t a real
woman for Ethiopia’s prime minister, Billene issue.
Seyoum, called the report a “myth” perpetuated “So, the myth of fuel shortage is a TPLF
by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) hidden agenda to enhance mobility of its army
“to enhance mobility of its army in preparation in preparation for another round of conflict.
for another round of conflict.” Hence, there are no fuel sanctions and such
On June 21, EU Commissioner for Crisis claims need to be reviewed with clarity on the
Management Janez Lenarcic said that Tigrayans reality,” Seyoum said. ™
were not getting enough aid due to fuel short-
ages, as there were enough trucks to bring aid
to Tigray.
“There’s a need to lift restrictions, especially
on the provision of fuel. More fuel is needed
because without it, even this food assistance that
comes to Mekelle cannot reach rural areas where
the needs are highest,” Lenarcic is quoted as say-
ing. “So now we have a situation where human-
itarian houses in Mekelle are full, but the people
out there in the countryside are still hungry.”
The war between the Ethiopian federal gov-
ernment and the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Lenarcic visited Ethiopia last week (Photo: Twitter/@JanezLenarcic)

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