BCP concerned about power cuts #PowerCrisis

Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Tuesday March 11, 2014 15:32

The BCP spokesperson Taolo Lucas said the central committee has resolved that it is high time government accepts liability and gives support to entities that have been negatively affected by regular power outages. Out of courtesy, Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) must announce power outages and load shedding so that individuals and entities could mobilise alternatives in the short term, Taolo said.

The party concluded that given their massive coal resources, a long-term strategic vision to produce sufficient power for consumption and export be developed in Botswana.

“The BCP views the power crisis besetting our nation as very serious. It is against this background that the BCP central committee meeting at the Botswana National Productivity Centre on March 7, 2014 has asked its leader and the current leader of Opposition Dumelang Saleshando to present a statement in Parliament on the deepening power crisis besetting Botswana. As a party, we shall also engage with stakeholders to appreciate their take on the current crisis,” said Lucas.

BCP spokesperson says since 2008, the country has been hit by serious and widespread power outages that have disrupted all areas of national life. He added that load shedding has continued unabated for six continuous years with varying intensity and debilitating effects on households, institutions, businesses and service delivery. “The cost to the economy is surely immense.”

“The consequences of the power outages are too ghastly to contemplate. Jobs have been lost, businesses have gone under, opportunities have been scampered and it is possible that some lives may have been lost due to the power outages.

“The cumulative impact of the power crisis in Botswana has caused dire uncertainty and strain to the nation that shall be difficult to reverse in the foreseeable future,” he said.