By Petronella Sibeene
SWAKOPMUND
The Minister of Mines and Energy, Erkki Nghimtina, has called on Southern African countries to speed up projects that would ensure that the region has sufficient power supply before the much-anticipated 2010 World Cup tournament in neighbouring South Africa.
Officially opening the 29th Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) Management Committee meeting yesterday, the Minister said: “It is incumbent upon us to ensure that this world tournament is not spoilt due to inadequate power supply.”
Nghimtina stressed that as the SADC region prepares for the forthcoming 2010 World Cup showcase, SAPP utilities have to ensure that there is adequate power supply to meet the extraordinary demand that would be experienced over this period.
The chairperson of the SAPP Management Committee, Nathaniel Maphathe, in an exclusive interview with New Era said there is no power surplus capacity to be traded in the region.
However, SAPP has secured funds to the tune of US$7.9 billion for projects in the short term. The institution has a generation target of 11???_?_’???_?’???_???