Zesco Utd assured of support
By Sports Reporter
ZESCO Limited has assured KCM-FAZ Premier Division side, Zesco United of maximum support, allaying fears that the power utility firm will stop financing the team following an Energy Regulation Board (ERB) directive.
The power utility’s senior marketing and public relations manager, Lucy Zimba yesterday re-affirmed the Zesco corporate management’s commitment to supporting the two-time Zambian league champions.
Zimba said in an interview in Lusaka that the sponsorship of Zesco United fell under the ‘disallowed costs’ which the firm could not use to justify its electricity tariff increments which were announced by ERB on Monday.
She said ERB did not stop the firm from funding the football club which was part of the firm’s community social responsibility.
Zesco was expected to bear all ‘uneconomic’ costs, which include sponsoring the Ndola-based side, without burdening electricity consumers.
“There is an accounting terminology known as disallowed costs and this is were Zesco United falls. We can’t use disallowed costs to justify the tariff increments. So we would like to assure the nation that we will continue supporting Zesco United. Nothing has changed from what we’ve been doing,” she said.
Zimba urged the team to continue working hard as sponsorship from the corporate management was guaranteed.
There was anxiety at the club when ERB urged the power utility firm to cut down on all uneconomic costs.
When announcing a new electricity tariff hike on Monday, ERB disallowed administrative costs such as the K4.7 billion funding to Zesco United.
