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Energy & Water
TOTAL service station at Matero
View of Kariba Dam with all four gates open
water
Petroleum products are a vital input for the mining
and transport sectors. In terms of overall petroleum
consumption, 53 percent is dedicated to the trans-
port sector, while 27 percent is consumed by the
mining sector.
Zambia is blessed with abundant water resources,
which cover some 11,890 square kilometres of the
country’s total surface area. Water resources lakes
include – particularly Lake Tanganyika, Kariba Dam
and lakes Bangweulu and Mweru – as well as a
number of rivers. Kariba Dam, a major supplier of
Zambia’s water needs, is 280 kilometres in length,
The National Water Policy of 1994, the National
Environmental Support Programme (1994) and the
Water Resources Master Plan (1995-2015) outline
strategies and comprehensive action plans to de-
velop the water sector. The 1997 Water Supply and
Sanitation Act established an independent water
regulator, the National Water Supply and Sanitation
Council (NWASCO) and delegated the responsibility
of providing water supply and sanitation services in
their respective areas to local authorities.
Increasing access to clean water and sanitation con-
tinues to be a major goal of the government, not only
in order to prevent water-born diseases, but also to
increase access to safe drinking water. Zambia is
committed to achieving the target of 74 percent ac-
cess to safe drinking water by 2015 in line with the
UN’s Millennium Development Goals. As such, the
water sector has been emphasized by the govern-
ment as one of the seven main investment areas in
the Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP).
For 2010, the government allocated K 433.7 bil-
lion to water supply and sanitation facilities – more
than double the resources allocated in 2009. Of
this amount, K 198.2 billion has been directed to
the National Urban Water Supply and Sanitation
Programme. In addition, K 116.5 billion has been
put towards the National Rural Water Supply and
Sanitation Programme and is being used for the
construction of 300 demonstration pit latrines, 1,000
boreholes and the rehabilitation of 700 boreholes.
Following the discovery of oil and gas in the North-
Western Province, there has been an increasing inter-
est from both foreign and domestic firms to take advan-
tage of exploration activities. A special committee was
appointed to handle the issuance of 23 demarcated
blocks in the North-Western, Western, Southern, East-
ern, Northern and Luapula provinces. In November
2009, the government held a successful first round of
bidding for international licenses for oil and gas explora-
tion. During this round of bidding, permits were issued
to seven companies for the exploration of 11 blocks.
Further rounds are expected as interest grows and
developments in oil and gas exploration unfold within
Zambia’s own borders.
The Energy Regulation Board (ERB), in collaboration
with the Competition and Consumer Protection Com-
mission (CCPC), investigates and monitors the levels
and structures of competition within the energy sector.
In conjunction with the Environmental Council of Zam-
bia, the ERB also formulates measures to minimize
the environmental impact of the production and supply
of energy, storage and use of fuels, and enforce such
measures by appropriate conditions to the licences held
by the oil marketing companies.
has a surface area of 5 580 square kilometres and
holds 185 billion cubic metres of water.
While the country has sufficient water resources, fac-
tors such as urbanization as well as demands from
mining and manufacturing industries have increased
pressure on Zambia’s water and sanitation services,
which need to be developed more efficiently for sus-
tainable and environmentally safe usage.