Former Energy and Power Development Minister, Fortune Chasi, has expressed his readiness to serve the nation again amid the growing calls by some members of the public for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to reappoint him to address the ongoing electricity crisis.
Zimbabwe is currently facing one of its worst power shortages, worsened by declining water levels at Lake Kariba, which powers the Kariba Hydroelectric Station, and outdated equipment at the Hwange Thermal Power Station.
In a post on X this Monday, Chasi said the widespread calls for him to return to his former role reflect the nation’s confidence in his ability to tackle the crisis. He wrote:
I can’t pretend that I am not seeing your “demands” to go back to my former job. I do not take your confidence in me lightly. I encounter it daily and everywhere. As I have said before, serving one’s country is a duty we must all be ready. I am!
Calls for Chasi’s return intensified over the weekend following a nationwide blackout caused by what the power utility, ZESA Holdings, described as a “system disturbance.”
However, an X account managed by ZANU PF activists, ZANU PF Patriots, dismissed Chasi’s remarks as “political grandstanding.” It said:
No to political grandstanding… May we remind you that only the President is mandated to appoint any deserving citizen to be a Minister. Opposition supporters calling for your reinstatement have no power to reinstate you. Your response to them thus is political grandstanding.
Chasi was fired as Minister of Energy and Power Development on 14 August 2020 and immediately replaced by Zhemu Soda.
Chasi was reportedly fired for his efforts to level the playing field in the fuel sector, something which did not go down well with powerful fuel cartels that have captured the State.
A statement issued by the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Misheck Sibanda announcing Chasi’s sacking back in 2020, read:
In terms of Section 104 (1) of the Zimbabwe Constitution Amendment (No. 20) Act of 2013, His Excellency the President Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa has appointed Hon Soda Zhemu Member of Parliament for Muzarabani North as Minister of Energy and Power Development in place of current Minister Honourable Fortune Chasi.
The latter has been relieved of his ministerial post as his conduct of business had become incompatible with the president’s expectations.
The appointment of Hon Zhemu and the removal of advocate Chasi is with immediate effect.
A Ministry of Energy official who spoke to The Zimbabwe Independent said Chasi was fired partly because he wanted to break Sakunda’s monopolistic hold of the NOIC fuel pipeline. The official was quoted as saying:
You must understand that at NOIC, Chasi was trying to even out the playing field in the fuel sector by ensuring that Sakunda Holdings will not continue to enjoy the monopolistic utilisation of the pipeline while also trying to fully assert Noic’s control over the pipeline. Sadly, this unsettled the interests of powerful fuel cartels.
His plans to revive efforts to build a second fuel pipeline were also met with fierce resistance by the same powerful forces.
He was trying to do many things right at the same time. He could not have prevailed over the combined efforts by the ethanol blending and fuel cartels.
The current Energy and Power Development Minister, Edgar Moyo, is a former Primary and Secondary Education Deputy Minister.
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