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Zambia will this year stop importing crude feedstock for refining at the venerable Indeni refinery and instead rely on imported finished petroleum products, as part of reforms that will also see it step back from involvement in selling to consumers, energy minister Peter Kapala told Chiwoyu Sinyangwe in Kampala.

The Zambian government has shelved a plan to reintroduce taxes on imported fuel, in an effort to keep prices lower. In December, fuel prices increased after the government removed subsidies on petroleum products in an effort to better reflect market prices. Zambia has migrated to a monthly pricing cycle that makes local pump prices more responsive to shifts in international oil prices and foreign currency exchange rates.

After reaching a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a $1.4bn bailout, President Hichilema’s government faces a stern test trying to convince the public that a hike in energy prices is needed to restore economic fitness, writes Chiwoyu Sinyangwe in Lusaka

Victor Mapani was appointed managing director of Zambian national utility Zesco with immediate effect on 3 December, following the departure of the controversial Victor Mundende. The appointment followed the replacement of the board of directors with six new members in November.

The government has appointed a new six-member board of directors at national utility Zesco. Zesco’s board had previously comprised the executive management.

Energy minister Peter Kapala said the Indeni Oil Company refinery in Ndola was not closing but rather was undergoing maintenance, with the goal of improving performance.

The government may shut the long troubled Indeni refinery and instead build a new pipeline to import finished petroleum products, as it tries to rescue state finances and agree an IMF package, writes Chiwoyu Sinyangwe.

The Hichilema government says it wants to resolve the long-running dispute between Zesco and CEC, but the duelling companies continue to operate in parallel universes of competing claims around tariffs and arrears, while state miners’ financial shortfalls add to problems, write Dan Marks and Chiwoyu Sinyangwe.

State utility Zesco’s debts have reached $3.5bn – $1bn more than previously thought – due to a combination of rising liabilities to independent power producers (IPPs), long-running disputes with mining firms and the depreciation of the local currency, according to energy minister Peter Kapala.

Controversy continues to dog financing from China, the world’s largest bilateral lender by a distance. Its debt provision has transformed the African funding landscape over the past two decades: according to African Energy Live Data, $38bn of Chinese investment was committed to power projects across the continent between 2014 and 2019 alone.

State utility Zesco’s failure to pay local and international bulk power suppliers on time is costing it more than $70m/yr in penalty charges, according to a government audit. Zesco owed local and cross-border power suppliers a total of $797.7m as of 31 December, with amounts “outstanding for periods ranging from 366 days to 1,767 days,” the Office of the Auditor General report said.

Africa GreenCo’s selection of the 25MW Ilute solar PV project in Sesheke as its pilot project is a major step in the developer’s efforts to demonstrate the bankability of its intermediary offtaker model. It comes amid renewed interest in Zambia’s power potential following Hichilema’s election win, writes David Slater

President Hichilema’s new government plans to increase electricity and petrol prices in moves to restore Zambia’s fiscal fitness but which worry a majority of Zambians. To limit the pain, the UPND administration is seeking other ways of turning around insolvent utility Zesco, senior sources told Chiwoyu Sinyangwe in Lusaka.

The newly elected government of President Hakainde Hichilema is hoping to agree an International Monetary Fund (IMF) package to stabilise foreign exchange reserves and enhance Zambia’s credibility as it seeks to renegotiate with lenders.

Political change via the ballot box in Zambia has been widely welcomed. The focus for newly-elected President Hakainde Hichilema is to aggressively restructure government debt and fight corruption to spur economic development in a significant about-turn from the outgoing Lungu administration. If successful, this could provide headroom for social spending and help to restore donor and investor confidence, writes Chiwoyu Sinyangwe in Lusaka and African Energy staff.