The Kabwe Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has called on investors in the region to take advantage of the country’s energy crisis to set up power generation stations.

Speaking in an interview with ZANIS, KCCI president, Kapai Banda, said most of the businesses are struggling because of load shedding and investing in power generation will save them from collapsing.

Mr Banda said there is a need for both local and foreign investors to invest in the energy sector to cushion the country’s power deficit which has been exacerbated by the drought.

“The energy crisis the country is facing at the moment requires the involvement of the private sector. This is not a problem that can be addressed by the Government alone,” he said.

He said the government has already provided an enabling investment environment for the private sector to flourish.

He observed that the business community in Kabwe has been adversely affected by the energy crisis the country is currently grappling with.

“Most of the local businesses are limping because of load shedding. As a country, we truly need to come up with both short-term and long-term solutions to this problem,” Mr Banda said.

He noted with regret that the country currently is recording a lot of job losses in the informal sector that have continued going unreported.

Mr Banda has urged the Government to explore more investment in the solar and coal power generation plants to reduce over-reliance on hydro power in view of eminent droughts due to climate change.