The last time we visited the Republic of South Africa (RSA), she was in a mess with blackouts. Folks, the situation is the same, and getting worse. As the Americans will put it this is a real ‘snafu”, ‘situation normal, all fouled up’. The national electricity supplier (Eskom) is doing load-shedding, this is a glorified name for rotating blackouts.
Load shedding is what caused Ghana to shut down her kettles at the VALCO smelter in Tema, so the folks in Ghana can imagine what is going on in RSA. A plant is in the middle of melting steel, and the electric juice is shut off; the semi-molten slag solidifies, when the juice starts flowing again, it takes longer time to melt the previously molten slag, much less add anymore material to the vat.
With load shedding, gold extraction from the soil comes to a screeching halt, unless one can afford a standby generator, and with all the gold and diamond mining, you think there would by generators all over the country-side, wrong.
Now you see why I said it is scary for Namibia to be depending on South Africa for electricity.
Folks, this game preserve has more hippos than cheetahs.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Electricity Botswana (BPC)
Welcome to Botswana. Land of Diamond and Gold, but NO electricity. When you mention the top producers of gold and diamond, Botswana is right there with South Africa, Ghana and Sierra Leone.
Botswana produces less than 30% of the electricity she uses everyday; the balance of more than 70% is IMPORTED. The lion share of the electricity imported into Botswana comes form the Republic of South Africa.
This is very scary, because South Africa as you will remember from the earlier blog, is not in the best of shape. In recent months, Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) have raised electricity rates or tariffs, coupled with this are blackouts.
I will like to spend more time talking about this environment, but truthfully, I can barley see the flicker of light in this tunnel. Before I took on this topic, I use to think Botswana is doing well, because all the students I have met going to school outside Botswana, cannot wait to finish, because there is a job waiting for them.
Folks, this country is making a lot of money, so why can’t they buy diesel generators.
I hate to say this, but I see more hippos than cheetahs in this country.
Botswana produces less than 30% of the electricity she uses everyday; the balance of more than 70% is IMPORTED. The lion share of the electricity imported into Botswana comes form the Republic of South Africa.
This is very scary, because South Africa as you will remember from the earlier blog, is not in the best of shape. In recent months, Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) have raised electricity rates or tariffs, coupled with this are blackouts.
I will like to spend more time talking about this environment, but truthfully, I can barley see the flicker of light in this tunnel. Before I took on this topic, I use to think Botswana is doing well, because all the students I have met going to school outside Botswana, cannot wait to finish, because there is a job waiting for them.
Folks, this country is making a lot of money, so why can’t they buy diesel generators.
I hate to say this, but I see more hippos than cheetahs in this country.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Electricity Namibia or Nampower
Here we are in Namibia, and I am very apprehensive. You are probably wondering why? The answer will be obvious in a moment. NamPower handles electricity production and distribution in Namibia. NamPower has been having a ton of headaches with supply of electricity.
Namibia is awash with Uranium, the essential commodity needed to get the uranium form the ground to the market place is electricity, and that they do not seem to have enough. Almost 50 percent of the electricity needed has to be imported form neighboring South Africa; but South Africa herself does not have enough. Recently, the consumer was given a choice, increase in electricity rates (or tariff) or rotating blackout. Majority of the customers voted for the higher rates. You can imagine what would happen to the poor people.
NamPower should be given some credits. Unlike some of her African neighbors, at least they are exploring all the possible options, and plan to utilize what is available, including as many as a dozen hydro dams along the same Kunene River, is this “green or is it green”, this would be more power and clean one at that.
Last year, the poorer desert Republic gave $40 million US to Zimbabwe to refurbish her electricity equipment so at least they will be able to get some power from the North, as well as the South.
The once, breadbasket of Southern Africa is now begging from her poorer sister. Before you say what is wrong with that? Think about it, when minority whites were running, South Africa, Southwest Africa (now Namibia) and Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Zimbabwe was producing the lion’s share of food for the whole region. Now Zimbabwe cannot feed itself.
Let me stick to the subject of this Blog, besides we have already shed some light on Zimbabwe in our last Blog.
In summary, there seem to be more cheetahs on this landscape the hippos.
Namibia is awash with Uranium, the essential commodity needed to get the uranium form the ground to the market place is electricity, and that they do not seem to have enough. Almost 50 percent of the electricity needed has to be imported form neighboring South Africa; but South Africa herself does not have enough. Recently, the consumer was given a choice, increase in electricity rates (or tariff) or rotating blackout. Majority of the customers voted for the higher rates. You can imagine what would happen to the poor people.
NamPower should be given some credits. Unlike some of her African neighbors, at least they are exploring all the possible options, and plan to utilize what is available, including as many as a dozen hydro dams along the same Kunene River, is this “green or is it green”, this would be more power and clean one at that.
Last year, the poorer desert Republic gave $40 million US to Zimbabwe to refurbish her electricity equipment so at least they will be able to get some power from the North, as well as the South.
The once, breadbasket of Southern Africa is now begging from her poorer sister. Before you say what is wrong with that? Think about it, when minority whites were running, South Africa, Southwest Africa (now Namibia) and Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Zimbabwe was producing the lion’s share of food for the whole region. Now Zimbabwe cannot feed itself.
Let me stick to the subject of this Blog, besides we have already shed some light on Zimbabwe in our last Blog.
In summary, there seem to be more cheetahs on this landscape the hippos.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Electricity Zambia and Electricity Zimbabwe
After long break, I am back. The journey for electricity in Africa has taken us to Zambia and Zimbabwe. This one is going to be a tricky one, because Zambia and Zimbabwe are like Siamese twins where electricity is concerned. These two countries share not only the power generation source but also the transmission lines.
The Kariba dam which was constructed in the 1950’s is not only sitting on the common border of the two Z’s as I will call them, but it is jointly owned by both, so no matter how bad one country behaves, the other can say all she wants, but can do nothing.
As a matter of fact, the transmission lines are jointly owned at a certain point. Power outages are common in both countries, as a matter of fact, Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) tend to flex its muscle quite a bit, and there is nothing anybody can do.
The situation in Zimbabwe does not help things any better.Folks, as much as I would like to elaborate on the electricity situation in this twin Z’s; I have to admit I am ashamed to even mention them, but this blog is equal opportunity, and one does not have to go too far to see HIPPOS in these two countries.
The Kariba dam which was constructed in the 1950’s is not only sitting on the common border of the two Z’s as I will call them, but it is jointly owned by both, so no matter how bad one country behaves, the other can say all she wants, but can do nothing.
As a matter of fact, the transmission lines are jointly owned at a certain point. Power outages are common in both countries, as a matter of fact, Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) tend to flex its muscle quite a bit, and there is nothing anybody can do.
The situation in Zimbabwe does not help things any better.Folks, as much as I would like to elaborate on the electricity situation in this twin Z’s; I have to admit I am ashamed to even mention them, but this blog is equal opportunity, and one does not have to go too far to see HIPPOS in these two countries.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Electricity Angola
We have arrived in Angola, the number 2 producer of oil in sub-Sahara Africa; and the third largest producer on the continent behind Nigeria, and Libya.
For the benefit of those who do not know much about Angola, it fought for years to get self-government for her colonial master Portugal, who reluctantly had to leave in 1975. Portugal was reluctant to leave because at the time it was probably the poorest country in Europe (and it is still close to the bottom here in the year 2008), and like the rest of the colonizers, was raping its colonies of raw material.
You will think after the colonial masters left, self-government would bring peace, wrong! There was a bitter civil war between 2 main factions ( MPLA-PT (Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola-Partido do Trabalho led by Antonio Neto, and UNITA –Uniao Nacional para a Independecia Total de Angola led by Jonas Savimbi).
Jonas Savimbi is gone, Antonio Neto is gone, how much improvement is there in the lives of the Angolans? The population is estimated at 16 million. Oil is flowing, water is not in every household, in fact, there is water shortage in a large segment of the population.
What about the main topic of this Blog-- Electricity? Well, like every country with delved into, the real numbers are hard to come-by, and what is available is sketchy at best. Over 60% of electricity comes from hydro (my favorite, very “green”), Matala dam in south west Angola that went into operations in 2001 on the Cunene River, is the main source of electricity; the Cambambe dam when it is operating at full capacity produces over 150 Megawatts, the Mabubas dam on the Dande River makes its fair contribution; then comes the rest from thermal, (no nuclear thank the Almighty for that).
So what segment of the population has electricity? Estimates are, less than 20%. Folks, how can that be possible? You will think with all the oil money, a larger part of the population would have access to electricity.
The civil war has been over for some time, the oil is flowing (as much as it is not that “green”, there are communities all around the globe that get their electricity completely from diesel gensets), preventive maintenance is keep production below capability. Blackouts are rampant in Angola, and water supply is not reliable.
I have mixed feelings about giving an opinion of this particular environment, but trouble makers like Savimbi are no longer around, so what is the "poor excuse" from those running the place?
I see nothing but a bunch of hippos in this landscape.
For the benefit of those who do not know much about Angola, it fought for years to get self-government for her colonial master Portugal, who reluctantly had to leave in 1975. Portugal was reluctant to leave because at the time it was probably the poorest country in Europe (and it is still close to the bottom here in the year 2008), and like the rest of the colonizers, was raping its colonies of raw material.
You will think after the colonial masters left, self-government would bring peace, wrong! There was a bitter civil war between 2 main factions ( MPLA-PT (Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola-Partido do Trabalho led by Antonio Neto, and UNITA –Uniao Nacional para a Independecia Total de Angola led by Jonas Savimbi).
Jonas Savimbi is gone, Antonio Neto is gone, how much improvement is there in the lives of the Angolans? The population is estimated at 16 million. Oil is flowing, water is not in every household, in fact, there is water shortage in a large segment of the population.
What about the main topic of this Blog-- Electricity? Well, like every country with delved into, the real numbers are hard to come-by, and what is available is sketchy at best. Over 60% of electricity comes from hydro (my favorite, very “green”), Matala dam in south west Angola that went into operations in 2001 on the Cunene River, is the main source of electricity; the Cambambe dam when it is operating at full capacity produces over 150 Megawatts, the Mabubas dam on the Dande River makes its fair contribution; then comes the rest from thermal, (no nuclear thank the Almighty for that).
So what segment of the population has electricity? Estimates are, less than 20%. Folks, how can that be possible? You will think with all the oil money, a larger part of the population would have access to electricity.
The civil war has been over for some time, the oil is flowing (as much as it is not that “green”, there are communities all around the globe that get their electricity completely from diesel gensets), preventive maintenance is keep production below capability. Blackouts are rampant in Angola, and water supply is not reliable.
I have mixed feelings about giving an opinion of this particular environment, but trouble makers like Savimbi are no longer around, so what is the "poor excuse" from those running the place?
I see nothing but a bunch of hippos in this landscape.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Electricity Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa)
We are now in the Democratic Republic of Congo. My anxiety level is running very high. The question is, why? The answer is an oxymoron. By the time you finish reading you will realize why.
To start with, Democratic Republic of Congo (I will call Kinshasa), is about the size of the United States East of the Mississippi (and Kinshasa is not the largest country in Africa). Kinshasa is home to rare animal species and a large potential for wealth in the form of highly valuable minerals and natural resources (cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, timber to name a few).
With all these, Congo (Kinshasa) is also one of the poorest, most chaotic nations in the world; destroyed by Military coups, dictatorships, that by some estimates have claimed millions of lives in the past 48 years. In just about every part of the country, law and order, electricity and medicine are virtually nonexistent.
This blog is about electricity or lack there of, so lets go to the topic. For starters, Kinshasa has the potential to be self-sufficient in electricity NOW, and I mean PRESENT time. But it is not. This is why, like the Tennessee River in the United States of America and its hydroelectric dams, the Congo River of Kinshasa is the host to the Inga dams. Inga 1 was commissioned in the early 1970’s; Inga 2 was commissioned in the early 1980’s.
The sad situation is this, like all the countries I have already talked about, there is gross incompetence in Africa when it comes to preventive maintenance. The people who are in charge of these power generating stations tend to forget that Machines are like human beings, they need fuel to work, and where human beings go to the doctors for a check-up, machines need to be shutdown for check-ups too. Bearings may have to be replaced, with regard to hydro-generators, rotating coils and stator coils may have to be rebuilt. Inga 1 has a potential for 351 Megawatts of electricity, while Inga 2 has a potential for 1424 Megawatts; Inga 1 and 2 combined has a total potential for 1800 Megawatts (1.8 Gigawatts), but the two combine are producing less than700 Megawatts, and had never produced more while the late egocentric Mobutu Sese Sekko was in power. Folks, we are talking about my favorite subject GREEN electricity. The dams have already been built, and commissioned, and are running under capacity because some fool thinks it is better to put money away in Europe for the former colonial masters to keep safely, while the masses are starving and suffering with no medicines in the hospitals.
Now there comes the Grand Inga, this hydro-electric complex when completed, is supposed to be able to supply the electricity needs of the WHOLE of Africa. The question is, how can that be possible, if you are NOT able to take care of the little ones, how can you take care of the bigger ones.
It is like human raring, if parents CANNOT take of their little children, how can they be expected to take care of their older, bigger elderly parents.
Folks, this landscape with all her troubles, have more Hippos than one can count.
To start with, Democratic Republic of Congo (I will call Kinshasa), is about the size of the United States East of the Mississippi (and Kinshasa is not the largest country in Africa). Kinshasa is home to rare animal species and a large potential for wealth in the form of highly valuable minerals and natural resources (cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, timber to name a few).
With all these, Congo (Kinshasa) is also one of the poorest, most chaotic nations in the world; destroyed by Military coups, dictatorships, that by some estimates have claimed millions of lives in the past 48 years. In just about every part of the country, law and order, electricity and medicine are virtually nonexistent.
This blog is about electricity or lack there of, so lets go to the topic. For starters, Kinshasa has the potential to be self-sufficient in electricity NOW, and I mean PRESENT time. But it is not. This is why, like the Tennessee River in the United States of America and its hydroelectric dams, the Congo River of Kinshasa is the host to the Inga dams. Inga 1 was commissioned in the early 1970’s; Inga 2 was commissioned in the early 1980’s.
The sad situation is this, like all the countries I have already talked about, there is gross incompetence in Africa when it comes to preventive maintenance. The people who are in charge of these power generating stations tend to forget that Machines are like human beings, they need fuel to work, and where human beings go to the doctors for a check-up, machines need to be shutdown for check-ups too. Bearings may have to be replaced, with regard to hydro-generators, rotating coils and stator coils may have to be rebuilt. Inga 1 has a potential for 351 Megawatts of electricity, while Inga 2 has a potential for 1424 Megawatts; Inga 1 and 2 combined has a total potential for 1800 Megawatts (1.8 Gigawatts), but the two combine are producing less than700 Megawatts, and had never produced more while the late egocentric Mobutu Sese Sekko was in power. Folks, we are talking about my favorite subject GREEN electricity. The dams have already been built, and commissioned, and are running under capacity because some fool thinks it is better to put money away in Europe for the former colonial masters to keep safely, while the masses are starving and suffering with no medicines in the hospitals.
Now there comes the Grand Inga, this hydro-electric complex when completed, is supposed to be able to supply the electricity needs of the WHOLE of Africa. The question is, how can that be possible, if you are NOT able to take care of the little ones, how can you take care of the bigger ones.
It is like human raring, if parents CANNOT take of their little children, how can they be expected to take care of their older, bigger elderly parents.
Folks, this landscape with all her troubles, have more Hippos than one can count.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Electricity Congo (Brazzaville)
Thanks for traveling with me on this journey. It has been quite an experience but no thrill for me, considering some of the difficult situations I have encountered. But we are not here to white-wash anything no matter how ugly it turns out to be.
We are now in the Congo Republic (Brazzaville ) not to be confused with the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa); and yes they are neighbors and share a common border.
For the record, the President of this country is Denis Sassou Nguesoo who has been in power since 1997 (that is eleven years in office). Since self-governance was attained in 1960 from the French colonial masters, things have not been smooth in this environment. The first President Alphonse Massamba Debat was toppled in a military coup, and the leader of the coup, who became the head of state was himself assassinated in March 1977.
This is the land of the pygmies, and the indigenous pygmies are now SLAVES of the Bantus. These pygmies work for their masters and are only paid by with whatever their Bantu masters think they deserve ( used items, cigarettes, clothes etc.) This is one black man mistreating another black man, and the white man has nothing to do with it.
With all this turmoil, the report card is going to be that of Sassou Nguesoo. To start with, water availability is just over 20%. Electricity is only available to less than 10% of the population. Should we judge hard or soft? To start with, Brazzaville is an oil producer, and the government has borrowed heavily against future oil proceeds (talking about selling your soul to the devil), so anything coming out of the ground, already belong to the creditors (mostly Europeans).
Available information is that electricity production is around 60 Megawatts, even though there is a potential to produce about 45 times as much. At the present time, Brazzaville is producing much less than what it needs.
I know this blog is about electricity, but learning about the enslavement of black pygmies by black Bantus, has really dampened my spirit, and caused me a lot of distress.
What do I see in this environment? Nothing, but a herd of hippos.
We are now in the Congo Republic (Brazzaville ) not to be confused with the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa); and yes they are neighbors and share a common border.
For the record, the President of this country is Denis Sassou Nguesoo who has been in power since 1997 (that is eleven years in office). Since self-governance was attained in 1960 from the French colonial masters, things have not been smooth in this environment. The first President Alphonse Massamba Debat was toppled in a military coup, and the leader of the coup, who became the head of state was himself assassinated in March 1977.
This is the land of the pygmies, and the indigenous pygmies are now SLAVES of the Bantus. These pygmies work for their masters and are only paid by with whatever their Bantu masters think they deserve ( used items, cigarettes, clothes etc.) This is one black man mistreating another black man, and the white man has nothing to do with it.
With all this turmoil, the report card is going to be that of Sassou Nguesoo. To start with, water availability is just over 20%. Electricity is only available to less than 10% of the population. Should we judge hard or soft? To start with, Brazzaville is an oil producer, and the government has borrowed heavily against future oil proceeds (talking about selling your soul to the devil), so anything coming out of the ground, already belong to the creditors (mostly Europeans).
Available information is that electricity production is around 60 Megawatts, even though there is a potential to produce about 45 times as much. At the present time, Brazzaville is producing much less than what it needs.
I know this blog is about electricity, but learning about the enslavement of black pygmies by black Bantus, has really dampened my spirit, and caused me a lot of distress.
What do I see in this environment? Nothing, but a herd of hippos.
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