Africa > Southern Africa > Botswana > The Botswana Federation of Trade Unions blamed the government for the current power crisis

Botswana: The Botswana Federation of Trade Unions blamed the government for the current power crisis

2014/03/21

The Botswana Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU) on Thursday blamed the government for the current power crisis, accusing the national of awarding the tender for a new power plant to a Chinese company that failed to deliver on its promise.BFTU said in a statement that the government had failed Batswana next it awarded the tender to construct the Morupule B Power Station to Chinese National Electric Equipment Corporation (CNEEC) whose final product is riddled by technical glitches.

BFTU argued that additional players should have been sought in the tendering process, adding that the original engineers for the project resigned in large numbers because of the shoddy approach by the project manager contracted by national-owned utility Botswana Power Corporation.

It alleged that the newly-commissioned power station was constructed with substandard materials and CNEEC failed to comply with designer specifications.

The labour union urged the government to prioritize mines during the ongoing load-shedding programme.

Botswana has been experiencing biting electricity shortages for the completed month, blamed on low generation capacity and reduced imports from neighbouring South Africa.

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