CHIKWANDA CALLS FOR REGULATORY FRAMEWORK ON GAS PRODUCTS

By NAMO PHIRI

ENERGY Expert Johnston Chikwanda has called for regulatory measures to ensure that the price for gas cookers as well as gas remain stable even as the country is trying to transition to the use of gas for cooking.

Energy Minister Peter Kapala announced that he had a discussion with Commerce counterpart Chipoka Mulenga on the need to increase taxes on electric cookers as a way of encouraging people to switch to gas stoves. 

Commenting on the matter, Dr. Chikwanda said that there was a need for the Government and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that people were not exploited by importers who might want to take advantage of the increased demand for the two commodities.

He said there was also a need for price regulations as another measure even as the Government rolled out the program.

He said there was a need to improve the distribution channels for gas in order for people to easily access it, adding that gas needed to be readily available anytime as a way of encouraging people to shift.

“Since it is important that people know that if they are looking for gas, they can simply go to listed places or locations and find it, we need to improve the distribution channels and make it easily accessible in different locations,” Dr. Chikwanda said.

He said the Government should also ensure that every filling station by statutory law was stalking gas for people to easily access it.

He commended the Government for the move saying this was long overdue as it was an effective tool to save electricity.

And Dr. Chikwanda appealed to the Government to also extend the same move towards electric geysers adding that they were also a high consumer of electricity in homes.

“If the Government is trying to come up with measures to lessen the consumption of electricity, this is one of the good moves that they can make,” he said.

And Dr. Chikwanda assured that implementation of such a move would not be difficult because most people had already shifted to gas stoves as could be seen where gas stoves were selling like hot cakes.

He said what needed to start happening was for importers to start importing more gas cookers as compared to electric cookers and the move would help to actualize that.

He further advised people to take an interest and shift from using electric cookers to gas stoves as it was cheaper to use gas as compared to electricity.