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Minister Walter Mzembi

Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi said on Friday Government is considering giving incentives for players in the sector who invest in renewable energy sources for their needs.

Minister Mzembi, who was speaking at World Tourism Day commemorations, said he had been inundated with complaints from players in the industry about incessant power cuts.

Zimbabwe is faced with severe power shortages as the country is generating less than half of the required 2 200MW due to declining water levels and old generating equipment that is constantly breaking down.

And Mzembi said it was critical that players innovate rather than complain endlessly about a situation that will take time to be resolved.

“I am getting a lot of complaints from industry players regarding power cuts and I sympathise with you,” Minister Mzembi said.

“We should take it as an opportunity to harness the sun. We should have an incentive for players who want to come up with solutions that exploit renewable energy especially solar and biogas.”

Minister Mzembi said the ministry would soon explore the type and levels of incentives that will be offered to companies that invest in renewable energy.

Minister Mzembi said the hotel industry must utilise solar energy mainly for its lighting requirements and biogas for water boiling instead of relying on supplies from the overstretched national grid.

On Wednesday, Government launched a water heating programme that phases out use of electric geysers, replacing them with solar geysers for all new and old buildings.

“You should only talk to government about powering heavy duty appliances,” he said.

Players in the hotel industry have said intensified power cuts in the last three weeks have seen the sector losing millions of dollars. — New Ziana.