BPC declares P11 billion Morupule B power plant unreliable
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Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) has finally stopped playing to the gallery and conceded that the most expensive project ever undertaken in Botswana spurning to 11 billion being Morupule B “is suffering from construction defects which need to be addressed.”
The pronouncement comes at a time Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources (MMEWR) Kitso Mokaila’ s gone-wax-lyrical on the matter. The Minister had several times spoke in carefully loaded terms about the misgivings that engulfed the power plant and his timing and deadline missed the boat more than twice.
It is understood that a Gap Analysis Review of the multi-billion pula power station was carried out and completed in December 2014 to determine measures to address the construction defects which have rendered the plant unreliable.
The defects remediation status illustrates that the major issues to be addressed at the 600 MW expansion of BPC’s then sole existing power station of Morupule A – were identified in the “boilers” and solutions to address these issues are now on the offing.
To get their ducks in a row, BPC officials say the defects will be remedied by qualified contractors and with good quality material and equipment from reputable suppliers. “The implementation of remedial measures is estimated to take up to 3 Years,” Nchena Z. Mothebe, the BPC Director Transmission has said this week in Gaborone.
BPC through a 4th annual key customer seminar initiated to interact with and engage its business clientele, says they have kept their fingers on the pulse and are working on the implementation of the measures to improve plant reliability and provide full output of the plant.
According to the Director in the Transmission department, 2 of 4 units are currently in operation at Morupule B. Unit 1 and 3 are currently in operation while unit 2 is expected to be back in service by mid-December. Unit 4 is on statutory outage till mid-January 2016, he assured the gathering which was comprised of various business kingpins including Manager of Phakalane suburban area Lesang Magang who expressed reservations about power outages and late bills as well as how they literally do no function in the absence of power transmission especially to their heartbeat business of the Phakalane Golf Estate.
In addition more investors at the gathering, who thronged the meeting in decent numbers and seemingly looked stressed out as the discussions pondered on, have narrated different stories of how their profits has hit an all-time-low due to inconsistent and unannounced power cuts.
This is also believed to hamper the roll-out of the newly much talked about Economic Stimulus Package (ESP) – a government initiative aimed at motivating the economy for more growth. Reliable power supply was seen as an enabler to implementation of ESP and failing which will be dire domino-effect.
Morupule B was well-thought-out as an upshot of the country’s worryingly reliance on importing approximately 80% of its power from neighbouring South Africa’s power giant Eskom which was reduced in subsequent recent years due to power crisis at the country as well.
It was said that the contract between Eskom and BPC involving the 300mw (when available) “will be extended from January 2016 to December 2018.” In addition the country also extracts between 20 to 100mw from Mozambique in which 20mw is available during peak hours.
However the BPC hands-on official stated that the regional power supply deficit will make “firm regional agreements difficult.” Weekend Post understands that due to mismanagement by the plant contractor China National Electric Equipment Corporation (CNEEC) which wielded deferrals of the project spiraling beyond the targeted 2012 and use of substandard material – the initially engaged CNEEC later fell out with government.
Consequently a German company, STEAG Energy Services was awarded by MMEWR Minister Mokaila (and government) to take over the project which entailed the maintenance and operation services at the Power Station. Meanwhile this publication has learnt that nonetheless the defects still persists.
With regard to Morupule A refurbishment project, the corporation has also updated on Wednesday that they have identified a contractor to carry out major overhauls of Units 1, 2 and 4 and refurbishment of Unit 3.
“Upfront project preparatory works were commenced in October 2015 while BPC is negotiating a contract for refurbishing Morupule A with the preferred bidder,” they stated.
The Morupule A project signposts that there will be sections 1 to 4 and each will churn out 30MW which will be commercially operational by October 2016. Only section 4 will trail in the succeeding year in October 2017. All the sections in Morupule A are projected to reach a total capacity of 120MW.
Morupule A was mothballed in October 2012, and so far the transactional advisors have been appointed, and limited notice to proceed signed with EPC contractor.
More projects to curb power crisis
In addition the beleaguered corporation’s renewal energy projects comprise solar thermal which has a capacity of 100MW and are targeted to be operationalized by 2017/18. Expressions of
Interests for the project are being evaluated after 118 bids were received following the closing date on August 2015.
According to BPC executives, another project involving renewable energy is awaiting cabinet approval for a go-ahead and it involves 75mw.
Other projects on the pipeline include IPP Brown Field which is directed for conclusion in 2018/19 and predicted to supply 300mw, as well as a project of IPP Green field involving 300mw and to be finalised in 2020/21.
Fresh information suggests that the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) has given nod to government request to award Owners Engineer contract for greenfield energy project as BPC moves to plug the energy gap. The Owner Engineer will overlook the addition of 2 more units at Morupule namely 5 and 6. The complex currently has 6 units after the addition of 4 units at Morupule B which is struggling to work at full capacity.
BPC warns power supply still on the red light
BPC has emphasized that the power supply situation in the country will remain precarious till 2018/19 when:
1. Morupule A Power Station will be fully refurbished (by end of 2017)
2. Morupule B Power Station remedial maintenance will be done (2018 end)
3. Morupule B 5 & 6 Power Station to be commissioned by 2018/19
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Local tennis team upbeat ahead of Billie Jean King cup
With almost two weeks until the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup, which will be staged in Kenya from June 12-17, 2023, the Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) ladies’ team coach, Ernest Seleke, is optimistic about reaching greater heights.
Billie Jean King Cup, or the BJK Cup, is a premier international team competition in women’s tennis, launched as the Federation Cup to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The BJK Cup is the world’s largest annual women’s international team sports competition in terms of the number of nations that compete.
The finals will feature 12 teams (Botswana, Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Seychelles, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Tunisia, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo) competing in the four round-robin groups of three. The four group winners will qualify for the semifinals, and the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup will be crowned after the completion of the knockout phase.
Closer to home, the BW Tennis team is comprised of Thato Madikwe, Leungo Monnayoo, Chelsea Chakanyuka, and Kelebogile Monnayoo. However, according to Seleke, they have not assembled the team yet as some of the players are still engaged.
“At the moment, we are depending on the players and their respective coaches in terms of training. However, I will meet up with Botswana-based players in the coming week, while the United States of America (USA) based player Madikwe will probably meet us in Kenya. Furthermore, Ekua Youri and Naledi Raguin, who are based in Spain and France respectively, will not be joining us as they will be writing their examinations,” said Seleke.
Seleke further highlighted the significance of this competition and how competitive it is. “It is a massive platform for our players to showcase their talent in tennis, and it is very competitive as countries target to get promoted to the world categories where they get to face big nations such as Spain, France, USA, and Italy. Though we are going to this tournament as underdogs because it is our second time participating, I’m confident that the girls will put in a good showing and emerge with results despite the odds,” highlighted Seleke.
Quizzed about their debut performance at the BJK Cup, he said, “I think our performance was fair considering the fact that we were newbies. We came third in our group after losing to North Macedonia and South Africa. We went on to beat Uganda, then Kenya in the playoffs. Unfortunately, we couldn’t play Burundi due to heavy rainfall and settled for the position 9/10,” he said.
For her part, team representative Leungo Monnayoo said they are working hard as they aim to do well at the tourney. “The preparations for the tourney have long begun because we practice each and every day. We want to do well, hence we need to be motivated. Furthermore, I believe in my team as we have set ourselves a big target of coming home with the trophy,” she said.
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Pep Stores donates sanitary towels to Popagano JSS
The Guidance and Counseling unit at Popagano Junior Secondary School received a donation of 790 sanitary towels from Pep stores on Thursday.
When presenting the donation, Mareledi Thebeng, the Dinokaneng Area Manager, highlighted their belief in giving back to the community, as their existence depends on the communities they serve. Thebeng pointed out that research indicates one in four girls miss school every day due to the lack of basic necessities like sanitary towels. Therefore, as a company, they strive to assist in alleviating this situation. She expressed hope that this donation would help ensure uninterrupted learning for girls.
Upon receiving the donation on behalf of the students, Charity Sambire, the President of the Student Representative Council, expressed her gratitude. Sambire specifically thanked Pep Store for their generous gift, speaking on behalf of the students, especially the girl child.
She conveyed their sincere appreciation for Pep Store’s compassion and quoted the adage, “Blessed is the hand that gives.” Sambire expressed the students’ hope for Pep Stores’ prosperity, enabling them to continue supporting the students. As a gesture of gratitude, the students pledged to excel academically.
During her speech, Motlalepula Madome, the Senior Teacher in Guidance and Counseling, highlighted that many students at the school come from disadvantaged backgrounds where parents struggle to provide basic necessities. Consequently, some students miss school when they experience menstruation due to this lack.
Madome emphasized the significance of the donation in preventing the girl child from missing lessons and its potential to improve the school’s overall results. She expressed the school’s gratitude and expressed a desire for continued support from Pep Stores.
Popagano Junior Secondary School, situated in the Okavango District, holds the second position academically in the North West region. Despite its location, the school has been dedicated to achieving excellence since 2017
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Botswana misses out critical PAP committee meeting
The Pan African Parliament (PAP) committee on gender, family, youth and people with disability in its sitting considered, adopted and recommended to the plenary session the preliminary report on the framework for the model law on gender equality.
According to the last week’s media release from PAP which is sitting with its various committees until June 2nd, the committee is following up the PAP initiative to draw up a model law on gender equality to enable national governments to harmonize, modernize and standardize their legislations to address local needs is set to be discussed in Plenary.
However, what is concerning is the fact that Botswana which is a member state missed the deliberations. Kgosi Mosadi Seboko who sat in the committee representing Botswana has since been ejected by parliament and this is a huge blow for a nation that is still battling equity and gender balance.
“Although PAP has no legislative powers it makes model laws for member states to adopt. PAP also develops protocols to be ratified by countries. The input of countries at Committee state is extremely critical. It now means the voice of Botswana is missing the discussions leading up to development of protocols or model laws,” said one of Botswana’s representative at PAP Dr. Kesitegile Gobotswang who is attending the current session.
While Botswana is missing, the committee meeting took place on the sidelines of the Sixth PAP second ordinary Session being held under the African Union Theme of the Year for 2023, “The Year of AfCFTA: Accelerating the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area” in Midrand, South Africa and will run up to 2 June 2023. Chairperson of the Committee, Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala expressed satisfaction with preliminary processes undertaken so far towards the formulation of the Model Law,” a release from the PAP website reads.
“The law should be suitable to all countries whatever the predominant culture or religion is. The aim is to give an opportunity to women to participate in the economic, political and social development of the continent. Women are not well positioned and face a lot of obstacles. We are introducing the idea of equity in the Law because we cannot talk about equality without equity,” said Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala in the press statement.
The release has stated that among issues to be covered by the Model Law is the migratory movements of women. The Committee proffered that this has to be addressed at the continental level to ensure that migrant women enjoy all their rights and live with dignity in their destination country. The members of the Gender Committee undertook consultations to consolidate the contributions of the various stakeholders that will be the logical framework format for the Model Law.