Government appoints power projects technical committee
GOVERNMENT has appointed a 20-member technical committee to be part of the team
responsible for the implementation of power projects in the country.
This comes after Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube,
announced Government’s willingness last December to speed up investments by
independent power producers (IPPs) in the energy sector with a special focus on solar
projects.
Since then, the Ministry of Energy and Power Development has been convening meetings
with the relevant stakeholders to discuss the selection criteria of the qualifying IPPs, the
composition of the technical committee, and the terms of reference of the committee.
“The technical committee shall consist of representatives from the Ministry of Energy
and Power Development (MoEPD), the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development
(MoFED), Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC),
Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA), The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and any
other person(s) nominated or recommended by any of the two permanent secretaries,”
said the ministry in a statement.
Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC)
The committee members include Engineer B Munyaradzi (chief director at MoEPD), Dr S
Ziuku (director MoEPD), Mr M Manyundo (MoEPD), Ms S Kavu (MoEPD), Mr F Tinarwo
(MoEPD), Mr P Mupiwa (MoEPD), Ms T Gwebu (MoEPD), Mr I Munaki (MoEPD), Mr T
Karise (MoEPD), Mr W Zimbiti (MoEPD), Mr K Makacha (MoEPD), Mr M Ndovorwi
(ZERA), Mr Madondo (ZERA), Mr L Nechitoro (ZERA), Mrs G Ngoma (ZERA), Eng I Dube
(ZETDC), Eng J Diya (ZETDC), Mr K Tapfuma (ZETDC), Eng N A Kajengo (ZETDC) and an
RBZ representative.
The Ministry of Energy and Power Development said the selection criteria for the
projects to be considered for the Government Guarantee shall be those under
construction, projects about to reach financial closure, and projects yet to commence
construction.
The IPPs have been directed to submit the required documents for consideration by the
technical committee.
These include proof of land ownership such as lease agreement or title deeds, detailed
feasibility study that is bankable, a valid power generation license issued by ZERA, valid
transmission connection agreement, five years of cash flow projections, proof of the
technical capability of the contractor, valid power purchase agreement (PPA), valid ESIA
certificate, indicative term sheet, draft agreement from the lenders duly initialled by
both parties in the case of guaranteed loans/ proof of funding and any other additional
documentation as requested.
Government has said all applicants for a guarantee should be submitted to the permanent
secretary for the Ministry of Energy and Power Development.
“The IPPs should submit two hard copies, one labelled original and the other one being a
copy. In addition, the IPPs should submit a soft copy on a memory card/stick to the
Ministry of Energy and Power Development,” reads the statement.-the cronicles
