Key Points
- Shadow Minister calls power outages a result of poor planning.
- Government blames the crisis on El Niño-induced water shortages.
- Mhangwa highlights an energy production gap of 300–400 MW.
Leslie Mhangwa, the opposition minister of energy and power development for the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), has blasted the government for persistent power outages, accusing it of being caused by bad planning and man-made.
Shadow Minister blames power outages on poor planning
Mhangwa’s remarks cast doubt on official claims that the blackouts are caused by the drought brought on by El Niño, which has caused load shedding at the hydroelectric-powered Kariba Dam due to dwindling water levels.
The Chinhoyi MP denied these allegations in an interview with Open Parly, claiming that the nation’s energy output cannot keep up with demand.
Energy production gap worsens Zimbabwe’s electricity crisis
“I questioned the Energy Minister over the 300–400 megawatt production gap during periods of high demand. According to Mhangwa, this deficiency shouldn’t lead to extended load shedding. He pointed out that if output stays constant, off-peak hours should reduce the supply-demand imbalance because electricity use usually peaks in the mornings and nights.
According to New Zimbabwe, the energy minister pointed out that load shedding does not apply to some vital loads, including hospitals, which puts further pressure on the energy supply.
“Our electricity situation is dire,” Mhangwa said, further criticizing the government. This is the outcome of delayed energy project planning and execution, not a natural calamity as they say.
However, several detractors wrote off Mhangwa’s comments as political hyperbole. They cited Zambia as an example, where citizens only have energy for three hours a day while the country shares the Kariba Dam. This contrast begs the question of whether the outages are due to inadequate planning alone.
