Prolonged blackouts set to continue
We are having candle-lit dinners of late; but not because we are romantic people!
Zimbabwe is currently experiencing severe electricity shortages leading to 18-hour power cuts. In most cases, electricity is restored for four hours and only after midnight.
This is not the first time the country has suffered such crippling power cuts but one can never get used to such inconvenience.
And sadly, we are being told to brace for even worse situations, meaning we will soon have to endure more than 24 hours of total darkness.
Power outages have been blamed on the recurrent breakdown at the Hwange Thermal Power Station, which is the country’s main power station.
On the other hand, Zambezi River Authority has reportedly ordered the country’s power company to stop generating electricity at Kariba Dam due to low water levels.
So basically it’s going to be a dark festive season.
I really feel for those who had already stocked up their refrigerators for the holidays as they will have to throw away their food which will no doubt go bad.
And if the situation worsens as they predict, there won’t be any ice cold beers and drinks for most people this Christmas.
The government has said it is working round the clock to mitigate the situation. Fingers crossed that things will improve even though most people have no faith in the powers-that-be.
On Monday, government spokesperson, Nick Mangawana tweeted; “The power cuts are causing distress, inconvenience and cost to the citizenry and business. This is regrettable. The challenge is affecting part of our region. Govt is seized with implementing immediate mitigatory measures to bring normalcy. We thank you for your patience.”
The general feeling amongst many is that our government never has long-term plans for anything as the same problems keep reoccurring.
“Stop painting it as a regional problem Nick. Zimbabwe is generating just 500MW instead of 22, 000MW needed per day. In 42 years Zanu PF did nothing to boost energy supply. The only thing you know is looting,” blasted one Abbie Mphisa.
Sharing similar angry sentiments, one Jones ranted, “This is nonsense and poor planning from the government. All you were doing is chanting slogans instead of putting plans in place for situations like this. You need to be proactive than always waiting for a problem.”
Other people said those in power never get their priorities right.
“I think our government made a big mistake by buying expensive cars for other political players and chiefs and giving out loans to Ministers and Members of Parliament. They should have figured out how best to manage the economy,” tweeted one Memory Mandizvi.