The people
of Zimbabwe had their first ZESA loadshedding in 1995. It started with just a
few hours once or twice a month power would be switched off. It has got
progressively worse and worse and today it is normal to hear customers who have
only had power for a few hours in six months or more!
Well brace
yourselves Zimbabweans, if you thought you had reached rock bottom and the
situation not possibly get any worse, it is going to get a lot worse. You were
used to the candlelight suppers and at least there was regular power supply in
the hospitals, shops, offices, and other essential services. Not anymore!
was not In a statement weekend, ZRA Chief Executive,
Munyaradzi Munodawafa said the high-level Joint Technical Committee (JTC)
meetings held on November 10 and 25, 2022 held between Zimbabwean and Zambian
parties to the Water Purchase Agreement (WPA) for Kariba, had noted a depletion
in allocated quota, hence the need to stop operations.
"Please be advised that as of 25th November 2022, Kariba South Bank Power
Station had utilised 23,89 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) of water, accounting for
1.39 BCM(or 6.16%) above the 2022 water allocation of 22,50BCM,” announced
Munyaradzi Munodawafa, CEO of Zambezi River Authority.
"Given that the Kariba Reservoir usable storage currently stands at a
paltry 2,98 BCM or 4,60% full, and that ZESCO Limited (of Zambia) still has a
positive balance of 2,44BCM (10.82%) as of 25th November 2022, ZPC/KHPC (ZESA)
no longer has any usable water to continue undertaking power generation operations
at Kariba South Bank Power Station."
The
situation will be reviewed in January 2023 and until then Kariba South Power
Station generators will be off stream.
The lose of
generation at Kariba South is a lot more that a lose of same generation output
at Hwange because of the characteristics of units. The water intake, the prime
mover of the turbine at Kariba, can be turned on and off in response to the
system demands thus making the system stable. Coal which is the fuel in the
thermal power station cannot be shoved in and out to increase the power output
with the same finesse as the hydro generator.
So one needs
at least one unit at Kariba South connected at all times for system stability. And
so having all units off line presents serious system stability challenges at
the thermal generators themselves are sensitive to demand fluctuation and it
one trips the rest often follow. Equipment will malfunction or worse if
subjected to big voltage and frequency variations.
What is
infuriating about this tragic situation of loadshedding, and power cuts is that
it could have been avoided with good management and visionary leadership. Blame
for the chaotic situation in the power supply can laid this Zanu PF regime’s
door and ZESA managers.
In 1980,
when the country attained her independence, the outgoing Ian Smith government
handed over to Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF government the feasibility reports to build
Batoka Gorge Hydro Power Station and to add Unit 7 and 8 at Hwange Thermal
Power Station. Smith would have started on both projects if it was not for the war
of independence.
There is no
excuse why today 42 years later the country has not only failed to build Batoka
Gorge and/or add the two Units at Hwange but has not added any generation
capacity of note. None!
It is not as
if the country had no money! The regime has splashed US$ 2 billion on Mugabe’s
Blue Roof Mansion. In 2015 Mugabe admitted the country was “swindled” out of
US$15 billion in diamond revenue. In 2019 Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Dr John
Mangudya revealed that the country was losing US$1.2 billion to gold smugglers
every year.
If some of
this looted fortune had been invested in building the US$3 billion Batoka Gorge
Hydro Power Station, think of the economic benefits to the country. To those
who do know, Batoka Gorge is between Victoria Fall and Kariba Dam. The water
used to generate power at Batoka Gorge would flow into Kariba Dam and use to generate
power.
We would
have two Kariba Dam renewable power stations! We have a sprawling Blue Roof
mansion, instead. What a criminal waste of resources and we are paying dearly
for it.
If operating
Hwange Power Station should prove problematic, as pointed out above, then ZESA
managers must be fired for landing the nation in this mess. To have used up the
country’s water allocation to supply base load when they knew the system needed
at least one Kariba Unit running at all times for stability was unforgivable.
As ZESA
managers deserve to be fired, a lot worse must be meted out to the Zanu PF
regime whose gross mismanagement, rampant corruptions and lawlessness have all
but destroyed the nation’s economy and us our freedoms, human rights and dignity.
The nation has been stuck with this Zanu PF dictatorship for 42 years because
the party rigs elections, denying the people a meaningful say in the governance
of the country.
As long as
Zanu PF retains its carte blanche dictatorial powers to rig elections, there is
nothing the nation can do to end the mismanagement, corruption and lawlessness.
Absolutely nothing.
Morgan Tsvangirai
and his MDC friends had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic
reforms to take away the dictatorial powers during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. Sadly,
they took their eyes off the ball and failed to implement even one reform. And
to add insult to injury, MDC now morphed into CCC have participated in flawed
elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy for the sake of a few gravy train seats.
We, the
people, cannot stop Zanu PF rigging the 2023 elections. Nor can we stop CCC
participating in the flawed elections. What we can do is make sure everyone,
notably SADC, knows the whole election process is flawed and illegal and that
CCC are participating out of greed. CCC has lost political credibility and Zanu
PF must be denied political legitimacy.
Deny Zanu PF
legitimacy and the country will be forced to have yet another GNU arrangement
as happened following the rigged 2008 elections. This time round, we must see
to it that the democratic reforms are implemented.
So, whilst you sit in the dark because of these ZESA and Zanu PF instigated power cuts you must think of how to make sure Zanu PF does not get legitimacy after rigging 2023 elections so we can finally implement the reforms. To address the power cuts, the economic meltdown, collapsed education and health services, etc. we must first end Zanu PF’s dictatorial power to rig elections by implementing reforms.
5 comments:
Writing on Twitter, Mutasa said:
One thing the povo doesn't realise is that ED Mnangagwa is a deft strategist of unparalleled brilliance. He essentially handled Mugabe and everything around from the late 1970s up until Grace came along when everything went haywire.
The brilliance in Mugabe's heydays was partially influenced by Ngwena's hand. He was the untiring and ever reliable hand behind the scenes. Even Mugabe acknowledged Ngwena's brilliance & hardwork after just before the 2018 elections.
I'm sharing this information to contextualise Chamisa's chances in 2023. I have observed the young man for a number of years and frankly speaking he can never match Ngwena even if Ngwena decides to sleep until after the election. They're just incomparable.
Emmerson Mnangagwa is a ruthless buffoon and hence the reason why Mugabe trusted him to do all his dirtiest of jobs such as the Gukurahundi massacre, the 2008 election coup, the loot in DRC, etc. As for strategic thinking Mugabe looked to Professor Jonathan Moyo and others but not Mnangagwa.
Mnangagwa was cocksure his “Zimbabwe is open for business!” was going to open a floodgate of investors and kick start the economy. It did not happen because everyone could see Zimbabwe was still a pariah state ruled by corrupt and murderous buffoons. He has since reverted to blame everyone else including the sanctions for his own greed and incompetence.
Mnangagwa would lose these elections to a donkey if the election was free and fair, that is how desperate the people are to get rid of him and Zanu PF.
“ED Mnangagwa is a deft strategist of unparalleled brilliance!” Yeah right! But then coming from Didymus Mutasa what does he know about anything! He was just another buffoon who was promoted way above his level of competence! Mugabe was good at surrounding himself with buffoons hence the reason he remained the star for 37 years.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his deputy Constantino Chiwenga will take home $69,2 million as their combined basic annual salaries in 2023, the latest proposed estimates of expenditure (Bluebook) have revealed.
Finance minister Mthuli Ncube announced the national budget last Thursday. estimates of expenditure show that Mnangagwa and Chiwenga will earn $5,8 million each as monthly salaries. The wages are equivalent to US$8 964 at the prevailing official rate.
The US$ 9k in salary will easily double and double again if we include allowances and many other benefits. So here is someone earning US$40k pm in a country where teachers and nurses earn US$ 100 pm and the overwhelming majority of Zimbabweans are vendors earning US$20 pm.
The economic gap between the ruling elite and povo has become a chasm and it is the fear of losing power and join the impoverished masses that is turned the ruling elite into ruthless thugs who will rig elections and use all manner of violence just to hang on to power at all costs!
The nation had the golden opportunity to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship during the 2008 to 2013 GNU but, alas, MDC leaders were corrupt and incompetent to seize the opportunity. Creating another opportunity is not going to be easy as Zanu PF thugs are now good at covering up their tracks. Zanu PF is bribing MDC to participate in flawed elections to give the regime legitimacy.
Still, if another chance to implement the reforms was to arise, we must make sure that the reforms are implemented without failure!
Calling a buffoon like ED a strategist is going over the top. The only reason Mutasa is doing so is to win favours from ED. He is hoping to be readmitted back in Zanu PF or secure national hero status at the very least.
Still, any hope Mutasa and other former Zanu PF leaders, including G40 members, had of staggering a come back on the cocktail of the opposition have all but evaporated now that the opposition leaders themselves are bending over backwards to please ED. Even Mutasa can see that Chamisa is participating in these flawed elections to win the few gravy train seats Zanu PF is offering as a bribe. Chamisa is not contesting the elections to wrestle power from Mnangagwa and Zanu PF.
"Only last week, the EU bloc launched its ‘Team Europe', a new rubric under which the 27 countries comprising the bloc will coordinate and consolidate relations with us, this time through Government, and in line with, and in support of our priorities under Government's National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1)," said the President.
"This is the first time that the EU has disbursed directly to Zimbabwe through structures of our Government.
"All along, relations were being conducted asymmetrically and unconventionally through non-governmental organisations.
"The bloc has already announced a €400 million facility to run for the next couple of years, including to the private sector through its European Investment Bank (EIB).
"Over and above releasing US$47 million to our Ministry of Health and Child Care, and to our Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) only last week, the EU has pledged to support our programmes under NDS1, focusing on two critical areas of Gender Equality and Women Empowerment, and that of Greener and Climate Smart Agriculture."
EU Foreign Affairs Ministers met soon after the election report was released and so they knew Zanu PF had once again blatantly rigged the elections still they decided to lift all the remaining sanctions the EU had imposed on Zimbabwe. Belgium was the ringleader of the countries who had lobbied hard to have the sanctions lifted. Belgium had its eyes on Zimbabwe’s diamonds and did not care about that Zanu PF was crashing ordinary Zimbabweans like bugs under foot!
The EU is stepping up its re-engagement with the Zanu PF regime on the eve of the 2023 elections which the regime is blatantly rigging and the EU knows that and clearly does not care! Any EU member country that fails to hold free, fair and credible elections will be booted out of the club and yet the EU is actively encouraging Zanu PF to rig elections by turning a blind eye to the regime’s rigging and wanton violence. How patronising!
THE Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) made costly blunders by ignoring valuable advice by the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) to stick to 550MW generation electricity at the Kariba South Hydro Power Station.
Now, the miscalculated decision by ZPC has thrown the nation into darkness with load-shedding stretching for more than 15 hours. Both business and residential consumers are affected.
Industry has not yet released the figures of losses due to suppressed power supplies but the impact is likely to be catastrophic if the situation is not addressed urgently.
Zimbabweans last week were shocked by an unexpected announcement that Lake Kariba had run out of usable water for power generation. According to documents gleaned by this publication, ZPC went above the stipulated generation capacity, breaching water rationing.
Several warnings by ZRA on water usage were spurned.
The ZRA, in January this year, allocated 45 billion cubic metres (BMC) to the ZPC and Zambia's Zesco Limited to be shared equally in 2022. Zimbabwe utilised 23,83 BCM of water, accounting for 1,39 BCM (6,16%) above the 2022 water allocation of 22,5 BCM. Kariba South hydro power station provides Zimbabwe with about 70% of its electricity requirements although it is producing significantly less than its capacity of 1 050MW.
There is no surprise in this; indeed, this was just another example of ZESA incompetence.
Only a few months ago Mnangagwa was said Zimbabwe will not only be generating enough power to meet all its power needs but will even have excess for export. Now he has to eat his words!
Zimbabwe is in serious economic trouble because of the years of gross mismanagement. The chickens have come home to roost. And as long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state ruled by corrupt and incompetent thugs with no vision; this country is going to sink deeper and deeper into this hell-on-earth.
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