The national power utility, ZESA Holdings, through its subsidiary ZETDC, has been directed by the government to make sure that load shedding does not occur during SADC meetings at specific places.
This directive is being issued at the same time that ZETDC is enacting broad blackouts, which continue from approximately 6 AM to 9 PM every day, in the majority of the nation.
In addition, the roads that the VIPs will traverse have been meticulously renovated and planted with palm trees, which effectively hides the potholes that mar most of the nation’s highways.
The Harare International Conference Centre (HICC), the New Parliament Building, and the University of Zimbabwe are among the venues that should be spared from load shedding during the meetings, according to a memo written by Gloria Magombo, Permanent Secretary for Energy and Power Development, and addressed to ZESA CEO Sydney Gata.
Magombo wrote on July 24, 2024: As a result, the ministry is requesting that ZESA, through ZETDC, ensure uninterrupted power supply at the aforementioned venues during the SADC summit period.
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The events are as follows:
– 7th SADC Industrialisation Week (28 July – 02 August), at HICC.
– Senior Officials and Finance Committee Meeting (08 – 11 August), at New Parliament Building.
– SADC Council of Ministers Meeting (13 -14 August), at New Parliament Building
– SADC and BADEA Investment Forum (14 August), at HICC
– SADC Public Lecture (15 August), at the University of Zimbabwe Diamond Lecture Theatre,
– SADC Organ Troika Ministerial Committee and SADC Organ Troika Summit (16 August), at New Parliament Building
– 44th SADC Summit (17 August), at New Parliament Building.
The edict, according to former Mt Pleasant MP Fadzai Mahere (CCC), demonstrated that the nation’s governing class “only cares about themselves.” Mahere said:
For more than a year, Zimbabwe has been suffering from rolling blackouts. Every day, most homes and businesses endure 20 hours of load shedding.
The administration is requesting special treatment in order to cover up their incompetence during the SADC conference, even though they have no plan to address the electricity situation.
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They don’t give a damn about how the people in the community deal with this daily blackout as usual. Their self-interest is their primary concern.
Longer blackouts will be experienced by the general public throughout the SADC period in order to accommodate inept elites.
Because of the Kariba South Power Station’s reduced generation capacity, Zimbabwe is currently experiencing a crippling power shortage.
With an installed capacity of 1,050 MW, the power plant is now producing less than 300 MW, or less than one-third of its maximum potential.
In reaction to the drought brought on by El Niño, the Zambezi River Water Authority, which is in charge of overseeing the river and the Kariba Dam, has cut back on the amount of water allotted for electricity production.
The amount of water available for the production of electricity has significantly decreased as a result of the drought’s detrimental effects on the water flows into the dam.
