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Golden Party of Zambia (GPZ) president, Jackson Silavwe, has criticised Energy Minister Peter Kapala for confirming that the government was still exporting electricity despite widespread domestic loadshedding, calling the move “insensitive and reckless”.
In a statement issued in Lusaka on Saturday, Silavwe said the continued export of electricity while citizens faced prolonged power cuts and rising living costs demands urgent answers from both President Hakainde Hichilema and the Minister of Energy.
“Why should our own people endure long hours of loadshedding in a cold season while the government continues to sell electricity abroad? You tell your own citizens to seek alternative energy sources while exporting their power,” Silavwe said.
He questioned the rationale behind prioritising foreign markets at a time when household poverty is deepening, productivity among citizens is declining, and many indigenous small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were closing due to the high cost of doing business.
Silavwe challenged Minister Kapala to publish a list of the countries and companies currently buying Zambian electricity, including how much revenue the country was earning from those sales.
“The government should also disclose how ordinary citizens, such as carpenters at Mandevu Junction Market, are benefiting from these power sales,” he said.
He further demanded transparency on whether any companies were paid commissions under the current Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), and urged the minister to clarify which administration signed the deals now being implemented under the UPND government.
“The government’s primary responsibility is to its own people, not to business deals. That is the reason people elect a government in the first place,” Silavwe said.
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