Zanzibar firm pays Tanesco billions

What you need to know:

The Zanzibar Electricity Cooperation (Zeco) has paid Sh45 billion to the Tanzania National Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) since March 19, 2017. The money is out of Sh65 billion outstanding in power supply and that the cooperation has projected to complete the remaining Sh20 billion debt by June 2019.

Zanzibar. Zanzibar Electricity Corporation (Zeco) has paid Sh45 billion of the Sh65 it owes Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco).

Zeco public relations officer Salum Abdallah said on Saturday that the firm was working closely with the Zanzibar government to ensure that the debt was cleared as soon as possible.

“The outstanding debt is currently Sh20 billion, which we plan to clear by June 2019,” he said.

President John Magufuli last year directed Tanesco to cut power to customers with long-standing debts, irrespective of who they were.

He said Tanesco should not hesitate to disconnect even State House if his office did not pay its electricity bills on time, adding that there should be no sacred cows in the cash-strapped public utility’s endeavour to recover huge sums in unpaid bills.

The Union and Zanzibar governments and institutions are among Tanesco’s biggest debtors, having accumulated debts totalling tens of billions of shillings.

Addressing the media shortly after arriving from a visit abroad in March last year, Zanzibar President Ali Mohammed Shein said Zanzibar’s debt had accumulated over 20 years, adding that he was not sure whether the archipelago would not be disconnected.

“We will have no option but to use oil lamps if power is cut,” he was quoted saying.

A few days later, Dr Shein met President Magufuli at State House, Dar es Salaam, in a meeting that was also attended by the then Energy and Minerals minister Sospeter Muhongo, Tanesco acting managing director Kahitwa Bishaija and Tanesco finance manager Sadock Mugendi.

After the meeting, Prof Muhongo assured Zanzibaris that power to the isles would not be cut, and that the Zanzibar government had already paid Sh10 billion of the debt owed to Tanesco.

“They have committed to continuing servicing the bill until it is cleared,” Prof Muhongo said.

In another development, Mr Abdallah said on Saturday that eight of the ten islands forming Zanzibar have been supplied with electricity, adding that efforts were underway to connect the remaining two islands.

“Our plan is have all areas of Unguja covered by 2020 and Pemba by 2022,” he said.