Where has all the power gone?

We're all suffering from the shortage of electricity - but why have things gone so wrong?

This week I was shown a leaked confidential parliamentary report on the energy crisis in Zimbabwe, and I have to tell you, it makes grim reading - if, that is, you read it in daylight, and don't try to read it at night, when there's no electric light to see it by.

The bad news is, both South Africa and Zambia are now refusing to supply us with any electricity. They say first we have to pay our outstanding bill, which between the two amounts to some US$42 million. That total in Zimbabwean dollars come to a figure with so many zeros it won't fit on this blog.

The debt apparently covers the period from March to August, 2007, and the four-page resort says that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is just unable to pay it, because of the unavailability, and the cost, of the foreign currency. So where exactly does that leave us?

In the past four countries - South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo - have supplied Zimbabwe with a combined 600 megawatts - about 35 per cent of our total consumption. Now just Mozambique and the DRC are continuing to supply us, out of what can only be described as "goodwill." Because they're not getting any money for it.

One answer to the crisis should be to increase our own home generated supply. But the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) are obliged to admit that their ageing power stations are unable to do the job.

So ZESA is obliged to institute the programme that anyone who lives here knows all about - that is, increasingly wide-spread power rationing. Under this system, it has tried to maintain a regular supply of electricity to industry and other productive sectors. But this has meant cutting supplies to domestic customers for up to 20 hours a day.

But now the parliamentary report admits that key sectors of our struggling economy are suffering. "It is estimated that businesses are operating at less than 30 per cent of capacity. Mines are operations for only four hours out of the 24-hour schedule," it reports.

This is a devastating and shaming report, and you can be sure that our gallant president will take absolutely no notice of it. Only recently Mugabe told cheering supporters that electricity cuts would soon be a thing of the past, as the government planned to build more hydro-power stations.

He didn't say where the money would come from. He didn't need to. Simple - the government will print it.

Comments

[Ten Shots]

well my friend the power has not gone anywhere, all u need to do is look up. sunlight. Africa has the best sun coverage and we are ignoring it. SOLAR ENERGY. Hydro plants got us into much debt in th first place . As Marcus Garvey said ,we have to beware the wiles of the west selling us things we do Nah need and we nah afford ,so we end up in debt.It cost US$500 mil to build dem things how many houses can we light up with solar panels at that sum. Free energy for life. we have all the raw resources we need to RECONSTRUCT AFRICA. Monopoly of our Heritage by the elite is what makes this constuction seem a deconstruction.

[stephen]

i wish to contact you by email but cant find it on your website.i need info on how i can correspond for you from harare. iam the secretary general of the national association of freelance journalists (nafj)
send it to me on stephenmatenga@yahoo.com