via Rolling power outages plague Zimbabwe | SW Radio Africa by Tichaona Sibanda on Tuesday, October 1, 2013
The ongoing spate of power outages in the country has created anger, frustration and much debate as to the nature of these energy cuts.
In the heat of this frustration and anger the ruling ZANU PF government has come in for much criticism for its inability to deliver power to the country.
Lionel Saungweme, our Bulawayo correspondent, told us that while the power utility company ZESA has the responsibility to generate electricity for commercial and residential use, they are not entirely to blame for the current crisis.
Saungweme told our weekly Speak out-Padare program that if anyone is to be blamed it is the government, for failing in their collective responsibility to plan effectively and strategize for electricity provision.
‘If ZANU PF can pay Nikuv $10 million to rig the elections, what stops them from investing the same amount of cash to repair and perform maintenance on existing infrastructure,’ he said.
The problem is however not new. The country’s power supply has been stagnant since independence. In the last three decades there was no investment in electricity supply, despite surging demand.
Saungweme said the recent unprecedented outages have paralysed social and economic activities in most parts of the country.
‘Recently I travelled from Harare to Bulawayo and the towns and cities were in darkness due to total power cuts, a situation which has affected the livelihood of the residents, who now rely on generators for homes and businesses.
‘The constant power cuts have brought untold hardships to many people, especially in urban areas. Currently, lack of electricity supply is one major crisis facing the country and it seems the government is clueless to rectify the crisis,’ Saungweme added.
COMMENTS
Tongai tione nemajority yenyu. I advise my fellow Zimbos, get your passport and run.
Mavhaire, who once famously said the president “must go”, given a long rope to hang himself?
Mugabe and his cronies do not pay for electricity. They want everything for free – water, rates, vehicles and scholarships for their children. They bought themselves generators from state coffers and therefore do not see the need for electricity for everyone else; just as they buy themselves 4by4s hence no need to fix the roads.
Brace up for more and more darkness as well as more and more water cuts my fellow zimz. No good news is forthcoming. This is zanu pf back in charge.
There is not much if anything to expect from a ZANU PF led government. Since independence we still rely on the same electricity generation at Kariba and we remain heavily dependent on a number of SADC countries for power supply, yet they also have their own demands.
We lacked forsight from the beginning. We had and still have all that it takes to invest in such projects as power generation and the rest. However with an irresponsible and ego-centric leadership we will remain in the doldrums of poverty. In as much as Mugabe claims that Zimbabwe will never be a colony again, is the country not literally being taken over by the Chinese? The ranting he does never brings anything good to the people of Zimbabwe. Why blame the British and it’s allies for our own failures?
Wait for another three months and the lingering truth will be much revealing. The economy is gonna be the benchmark to measure the capacity and ability of this govt. The future looks bleak and the Zanu Pf led government will stop at nothing but reaping the poor. They remain clueless and the question is are likely to see ourselves going back to the 2008 / 9 scenerio? Only time will tell…