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The Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Honourable Dr. P.H.K. Kedikilwe and Zimbabwe's Minister of Energy and Power Development, Honourable Engineer Mudzuri met in Francistown on the 2nd October 2009 to discuss how the two countries could foster closer cooperation in the Energy sector.

The Ministers' meeting was a follow up to their previous meeting in Maputo, Mozambique in April 2009 at which the Honourable Ministers directed their two national power utilities to develop short term intervention measures to address the power supply and demand mismatch which if not expeditiously and adequately addressed could result in stifled social and economic development in the sister republics.

Subsequent to the Ministers' initiatives to meet, the President of the Republic of Botswana, His Excellency Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama and the Right Honourable Prime Minister of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai asked the Ministers to address the issues relating to power supply between Botswana and Zimbabwe. On the same breathe; Minister Kedikilwe held a meeting with the Right Honourable Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai on 4th August 2009 in Gaborone, where the Right Honourable Prime Minister undertook to facilitate acceleration of the holding of the meeting in Francistown to progress issues further.

The Ministers, taking cognizance of the fact that energy is a prerequisite for successful industrialization, explored at length ways that could be employed in addressing the prevailing Power Supply Situation in the two countries. The interactions between the technical teams and Ministers of the two countries were religiously premised on how best they could address the rather tenuous Power Supply Situation prevalent in the two countries.

The Honourable Ministers in particular directed the utilities to work jointly to restore power generation at Bulawayo Power Station and addressing transmission constraints in the Zimbabwe power grid so as to facilitate increased power transfers through Zimbabwe. Following receipt of the Utilities report on the short-term measures that can be implemented to address the prevailing power supply deficit in the two countries the Honourable Ministers resolved that; Short-term measures be progressed urgently to restore optimal generation capacity at Bulawayo Power Station by June 2010 and strive towards the enhancement of transmission capacity in the Zimbabwe Power grid, to create and enabling environment that will facilitate closer cooperation between the two Governments and the two Utilities, to develop and sign an Inter-Governmental Memorandum of Understanding by the end of November 2009. Lastly, officials from the two Ministries are to identify projects in the Energy Sectors of the two countries such as extending the Beira/Harare fuel pipeline to Botswana and renewable energy projects which would improve energy Security and access to clean energy by the peoples of the two countries. In closing, the Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to promote integration in the Energy Sector in their two countries and agreed to meet as often as would be deemed necessary to evaluate progress made.

The Ministers' meeting was preceded by that of their technical teams which was held from the 28 to 29 September 2009 in Zimbabwe and later in Francistown on the 1st October 2009. The delegation that comprised of Senior Government officials from the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources (MMEWR) and Senior representatives from Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) left for Zimbabwe on the 27th September 2009. While in Zimbabwe the delegation visited Bulawayo Power Station Site, Hwange Power Station and Hwange Mine.

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