Zaire ENERGY
Gécamines Lubumbashi copper smelter
Concentrators for copper and cobalt at Gécamines Kamoto
mills near Kolwezi
Courtesy Gécamines
The government has a broad involvement in the energy
sector. It
holds part ownership in all energy enterprises, including
the
National Electric Company (Société Nationale
d'Électricité--SNEL),
it sets price controls, and it reviews all investments in
the
sector. The Ministry of National Economy and Industry had
authority
over pricing for electricity and oil products but
eventually lifted
price controls in 1983. The government also holds minority
shares
in the fuel-product distribution companies: Mobil, Fina,
and Shell.
Exploitation of major resources at times has been
poorly
adapted to meeting the country's overall energy needs. The
government has tended to concentrate primarily on
petroleum
resources and electric power and to neglect the potential
of the
country's abundant biomass. The lack of sector-wide
planning and
coordination, a weak energy infrastructure, ill-defined
pricing
policies, and institutional deficiencies have constrained
efficient
development and utilization of energy resources.
Various government energy entities execute their duties
in
isolation, and responsibility is divided among the
numerous and
diverse agencies, with none having access to information
required
to define sector policies or the capacity to implement
them. This
decentralization and the absence of an effective
coordinating agent
have hindered the formulation of a cohesive sector
strategy. In
response to this disorder, a National Energy Commission
within the
Department of Land Management, Mines, and Energy was
created in
1985. The French provided and funded an adviser to the
commission,
but its effectiveness remained in doubt.
Data as of December 1993
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