SADC leaders to be shielded from power cuts as ZESA ordered to keep the lights on

HARARE – Zimbabweans are enduring hours of power cuts daily but regional leaders attending a summit in Harare next month will be shielded from the blackouts after the government instructed power utility ZESA to keep the lights on at selected venues.

Roads to be used by the VIPs have also been carefully refurbished and lined with palm trees, hiding the country’s notorious potholes that scar every other road in the country.

ZimLive has seen a memorandum from energy secretary Gloria Magombo to ZESA CEO Sydney Gata in which she lists a series of events leading up to the SADC heads of state summit on August 17, and their venues.

“The ministry is therefore requesting ZESA through ZETDC to ensure uninterrupted power supply at the above-mentioned venues during the SADC summit period,” Magombo wrote in the memo dated July 24.

Former Mt Pleasant MP Fadzai Mahere said the directive showed that the country’s ruling elite “only care about themselves.”

“Zimbabwe has been reeling from rolling blackouts for over a year now. Most households and industries experience 20-hour load-shedding daily. The government has no plan to fix the power crisis but they’re demanding special favours to mask their incompetence during the SADC summit,” Mahere said.

“As usual, they don’t care at all about how the citizens have to cope with this lack of electricity on a daily basis. They only care about themselves. Ordinary people will experience even longer blackouts during the SADC period to accommodate incompetent elites.”

Zimbabwe has a major power deficit after generation at Kariba Dam was curtailed owing to low water levels and constant breakdowns at ageing coal-powered plants.

On Tuesday, the country was generating 1,234 MW of electricity, far short of the peak demand of 1,800 MW. Power cuts to manage the load affect both households and productive sectors including mines and agriculture.

The lead-up to the SADC summit began with the 7th SADC Industrialisation week running from July 28 to August 2 at the Harare International Conference Centre.

From August 8 to 11, there will be a senior officials and finance committee meeting at the new parliament building in Mt Hampden to be followed by a meeting of the SADC council of ministers meeting at the same venue from August 13 to 14.

The University of Zimbabwe will host a SADC public lecture on August 15 before regional leaders gather for the main summit on August 17, at which Zimbabwe will take over the rotating presidency of the regional body from Angola.