Be innovative, HH challenges engineers
By Adrian Mwanza
PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has urged Zambian engineers to be innovative and come up with projects that will benefit the country positively.
Speaking during the launch of the 250 megawatts solar plant in Lusaka’s Leopards Hill yesterday, Hichilema said local engineers needed to bring change through innovation.
Hichilema expressed displeasure at the current trend where engineers lacked innovation as they queued and waited for the government to offer them jobs.
“We had a meeting with engineers recently where I challenged them to change the paradigm by becoming more innovative and coming up with projects that can benefit the Zambian people,” he said.
Hichilema said local engineers could only become proactive if they were innovative and ventured into projects that spoke to the needs of the nation to benefit its economy.
He said the US$300 million project undertaken by Globeleq and Kwindu farms was a result of innovation.
“Just this project is very beneficial to the economy of Zambia and the project is a game changer as the country will now be moving from hydro to solar energy,” Hichilema said.
He said the transition from hydro to solar energy had the capacity to generate enough energy to power various households and improve the country’s economy by increasing activities.
And Globeleq chief executive officer Jonathan Hoffman said the Leopards Hill Power Project was a US$315 million intervention.
Hoffman said the project was meant to cushion the power deficit the country was experiencing.
He said the country’s energy demand continued to grow.
The project would uplift the surrounding areas.
“The country’s power demands are increasing and as a country, there is a need to have an alternative supply if the economy is to grow,” Hoffma said.
