President Emmerson Mnangagwa has described current fuel queues on Zimbabwe’s filling stations as disturbing during the launch of the National Renewable Energy Policy (NREP) and Biofuels Policy of Zimbabwe (BPZ) in Harare today.
Zimbabwe’s leader said that the two launched policies will help the government to ensure energy security to a country that survives on the importation of oil and sometimes electricity.
“As a country, we have been experiencing intermittent and limited supply of petroleum products. These challenges, coupled with instability in the pricing of petroleum commodities and speculative tendencies by retailers and consumers has seen us witnessing disturbing fuel queues which wastes productive time,” he said.
“These two policies (NREP and BPZ) will help government to ensure energy security. Increased investments are welcome in the renewable energy technologies towards an Upper Middle Economy by 2030.”
Commenting on the National Renewable Energy Policy (NREP), the president said the proposed action advocates for an increase in the share of renewable energy in the overall energy mix.
NREP was developed under the overall framework laid out by the National Energy Policy of 2012 the executive summary of the plan.
“This resonates with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and our national development strategies,” the Zimbabwean leader said.
“The policy also seeks to address the impact of climate change and focus on driving cost-effective utilisation of sustainable energy sources.’
An executive summary of the Biofuels Policy of Zimbabwe (BPZ) says the proposed action has been developed to guide long term sustainable development of the biofuel sector in Zimbabwe through the provision of an enabling environment.
President Mnangagwa said the BPZ is a policy framework for the production, investment and use of liquid biofuels.
“Government took a deliberate decision to blend petrol with bio-ethanol from sugarcane and this will help in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.
“We are equally determined to promote research and development of bio-fuels.”
The two documents are launched at a time when Zimbabwe is facing challenges in providing enough electricity and oil for citizens.
Critics have blamed ethanol blending for the petroleum prices that remain high at a time when oil products costs go down around the world.
