Coal-rich Zimbabwe faces acute shortages

HARARE – Drastic coal shortages despite massive natural deposits have had a ripple effect throughout Zimbabwe’s economy and ruined a deal to renovate the country’s biggest steelworks, the government has acknowledged.

The energy crisis adds to the economic woes of Zimbabwe, which is already suffering from acute shortages of fuel and many basic commodities.

Industry Minister Obert Mpofu told a panel of lawmakers in Harare on Wednesday that Indian steelmaker Global Steel Holdings pulled out of an investment deal at the Zicosteel steelworks in central Zimbabwe because of concerns about lack of coal supplies.

The steel maker needed 60 000 tons of coal a month but earlier this year received just 14 000 tons monthly – “enough to keep the furnaces on, but without production”, Mpofu told a parliamentary inquiry at a hearing last week.

Namibian