40 billion dollars wasted

The state visit of President Nyusi to South Africa last October had at its core one heartbreaking situation. They led President Nyusi and his entourage with 60 entrepreneurs, more senior officials who accompanied him to the construction site of the power station Medupi future of coal, 360 kilometers from Pretoria. Medupi is a gigantic monument to high corruption Zuma's kingdom.

With over five years of delay in work and already 50% surplus over the budgeted amount, served to fill the boxes of the ANC, through its business arm "Chancellor House", imposed as a BEE partner (black empowerment) in work. From 2018, Medupi will produce 4,000 MW (4 GW) of electricity burning mega amounts of low calorific value coal. thus substantially contribute to the degradation of the environment and water resources in our region, even increasing the risk of global warming. Visit the Medupi served to confront the Mozambican delegation to the brutality of energy ANC options.

The energy strategy of the ANC, based on coal and nuclear, is based on the interests of the coal industry in South Africa and favors boundless lobbies of nuclear energy are promising. These options actually reject the regional option of clean and economic energy production from the natural gas fields of the Rovuma, fifth or sixth largest natural gas reserves in the world.

At best, the cost of ESKOM for the generation of power from Medupi will be 1.22 Rands per kWh, but is likely to reach 1.60 Rands per kWh. A recent calculation of a possible cost of energy that could be produced in the South from the gas supplied through a North-South pipeline Africa (with an implementation period of only two years), concludes a maximum price of 1.10 Rands per KW / h, includ- ída amortization of investment (totaling some 10 billion dollars).

For the nuclear option the ANC, which provides for the installation of eight nuclear power stations from 2016 and within a minimum period of construction of 14 years, the investment will not be less than 120 billion dollars. This investment is at least ten times the cost of energy integration option from the Rovuma gas, without even taking into account the indirect economic benefit that could result from an increase in transfers between the economies of the two countries. Visit the Medupi expressed the traditional role of the Southern Africa regional bully.

But exactly why, it raises the important question of the sharing of benefits resulting from energy supply from Cahora Bassa. Cahora Bassa Since the new 2007 supply agreement, ESKOM of South Africa buys power from Cahora Bassa to the price of 0.1256 Rands per KW / h, a price in 2007 was absurd, given the levels of the price of energy produced in South Africa and worldwide. Currently, average energy prices are 32 cents Dollar in Germany, 20 cents in France, 16 in Brazil and 14 in Russia.

Does this mean that a realistic price would be at least 1.80 Rands per KW / h, instead of 0.1256 Rands. The energy from the thermal power station of Ressano Garcia is being sold on the basis of 1.49 Rands per KW / h. The huge difference between 0.1256 cents Rand overcome by power from Cahora Bassa and 1.49 Rands charged by energy Ressano Garcia re- flexes the true value of the energy market. The energy price Cahora Bassa prior to 2007 was initially 0.036 Rands per kwh, an amount in the symbolic reality. The price of 0.036 Rands had been imposed by South Africa in the destabilization war base that promoted in Mozambique, and South Africa from 1982 ruined and paralyzed completely the economy of Mozambique. In 1982 the amount of 0.036 Rands was equivalent to 3 cents on the dollar, with the Rand almost 1: 1, that is on par with the dollar.

The price from 2007, of 0.1256 Rands, was at the time equivalent to $ 0.017. Today, in 2015, it is equivalent to $ 0009. It means that the price has dropped a little level less than 2 cents of the dollar to just under 1 cent on the dollar. I mean that nowadays only ESKOM is paying 1/3 of that paid by the same energy in 1982.

Or in other words, the ANC government has tripled the injustice practiced by the government of Apartheid! To get a sense of the size of Cahora Bassa power of plunder, you must remember that the real pre- CO and market value of electricity even in the regional context of the SADC, is 15 times higher than it is to win on sale this energy to South Africa through the long transmission line from the Cahora Bassa. To hinder the prevalence of normal commercial considerations, the transmission line from Cahora Bassa was designed and purpose built in a way that makes it impossible any power supply in the national Mozambique from this transmission line. This means that South Africa remains comfortably and without risk of competitiveness receiving 1.3 GW (representing about 5% of national energy consumption) from Cahora Bassa. At the current price, equivalent to an annual value of 1,430,332,800 Rands, or 106 million dollars. The actual market price should add at 1,576,413 million or 1,576 billion dollars.

If Mozambique was receiving the actual price and market for energy, instead of receiving only about 7.5% of this amount, Mozambique today would be a country in good developing. The difference is about 1 300 million in state salaries per year. Thus, Mozambique, the fourth of the least developed countries in the world, continues to subsidize the economy of South Africa, a country with a medium income level and GDP per capita 20 times the per capita GDP of Mozambique. Over the decades, the loss of Mozambique easily sum of 40 billion (in Brazilian 40 trillion) dollars, ie 4012. This amount means about state revenues over the last two decades could have been every year twice it actually was.

The sad conclusion is that the giant brother of Mozambique, South Africa, largely enjoys its development and its relative wealth at the expense of at least two generations of Mozambicans who have not had access to education, health and often the opportunity to development. The political challenge is to convince the brothers of the independence struggle in South Africa that regional energy integration on the basis of energy sources in Mozambique will have greater benefit to everyone, including the ANC.

* By André Thomashausen Professor of International and Comparative Law at the University of South Africa (Unisa)