ZIMBABWE Law and Practice Contributed by: Nikita Madya and Chantele Sibanda, Wintertons
• whether the service is to be provided to a con- sumer or to another licensee – provided that, in the case of a licensee whose services are provided pursuant to a contract, ZERA may incorporate in the licence the contractual obligations of the licensee or declare the terms and conditions of the contract to be the terms and conditions of the licence or part thereof. The licence may also be issued subject to the follow- ing conditions: • within a specified time, the licensee must divest any holding of shares in another licensee or comply with other such conditions that ZERA determines to be in the public interest, including adherence to any code of conduct; • the licensee must make such reasonable provision as may be specified by ZERA in the licence for the facilitation of rural electrification in the proximity of the service; • the terms and conditions of a licence may require the licensee to: • enter into agreements on specified terms with other persons for the provision or use of electric lines and associated equipment operated by the licensee; • purchase power and other resources in an eco- nomical and transparent manner; and • refer disputes to arbitration, mediation or determi- nation by ZERA; • the licensee must provide information on a peri- odic basis, in such form and detail as ZERA may determine; • ZERA may allow a licensed activity to be exclusive for all or part of the period of the licence, for a spe- cific purpose, for a geographical area, or for some combination of these; • the licence will cease to have effect or will be mod- ified or amended by ZERA in such circumstances as may be specified in the licence or as may be determined by ZERA; • as a condition of its licence, unless expressly exempted by said licence, every licensee must prepare and submit to ZERA an annual statement of accounts in such form – and containing such particulars – as ZERA may require; and
• a licence will be valid for a period up to but not exceeding 30 years – although ZERA may extend the period of a licence, considering the nature of the undertaking or business, for an additional period not exceeding 20 years should it determine that it is in the public interest to do so. In addition, and in terms of Part IV of the Licensing Regulations, a licensee must: • comply with the consumer protection and perfor- mance standards; • comply with the Zimbabwe Grid Code, the Zimba- bwe Distribution Code, and any other codes speci- fied by ZERA; • notify ZERA in writing as soon as there is a material breach of a standard or code; • undertake an operations and compliance audit at regular intervals notified by the code, completed by a designated and appropriately qualified person; • maintain separate and ring-fenced accounts for its operations; and • annually submit audited copies of its account- ing statements to ZERA, together with the annual licence compliance return, and – where year-end falls at a time other than 31 December – within 45 days of the end of its financial year. ZERA may impose general terms and conditions over and above those usually included in a licence. 3.4 Eminent Domain, Condemnation and Expropriation Rights to Construct and Operate Generation Facilities A proponent does not have eminent domain or expro- priation rights. Land-use rights are usually acquired by way of leasing land from the relevant authority or municipality. The lessee then pays “rent” to the munic- ipality as a form of compensation. One may also pur- chase the land outright. Way leaves can be negotiated with owners of private land or the local authorities. 3.5 Decommissioning a Generation Facility The objective is to achieve an acceptable state as rapidly as possible, reducing long-term maintenance to a minimum. On the socio-economic side, the plan regarding preparation for closure will largely have been carried out during the operational phase. Each
483 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook