ZESA executive chairman Sydney Gata has attributed the current power shortages in the country to illegal sanctions imposed on the country by Western powers, which have prevented the power utility and other entities from accessing concessionary loans for infrastructure development.
As a result, Zimbabweans are enduring daily blackouts lasting at least 15 hours in their homes and businesses.
To prevent the collapse of the national grid, ZESA has implemented stringent power rationing measures.
In an exclusive interview with The Herald in Harare on Thursday, Gata explained that the power crisis has been further exacerbated by drought, which has severely reduced the water available for power generation at the Kariba Dam. Said Gata:
We have been unfortunate with Kariba hydrology or Zambezi hydrology to be more accurate. We have lost the capacity of Kariba… drastic losses.
For instance, the power station is rated at 1050MW today but we are hardly producing 150MW.
What hurts the most is that Kariba is normally our baseload plant because it is cheap to deploy and also highly reliable.
Hydropower plants have less equipment on them and are more stable to operate than confined power plants throughout the world.
So, we lost our cheapest source of energy and our most reliable source of energy and that explains today’s load shedding.
On October 22, the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), ZESA’s power generating unit, reported that the country was producing a total of 1,012 MW of electricity.
This included 784 MW from Hwange, 184 MW from Kariba, and 43 MW from Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
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Imhenyu · 5 months ago
Gross mismanagement and rampant corruption is there in Zimbabwe bt pipo should learn and know kt what are sanctions or embargoes,,also anomboitirweiko and anorwadza ani uye kt arwadziswa nawo anifanirwa kudini,,vanoisa masancitions chero on one individual sekutaura kwavo, vanenge vachida kuachivha chii chaizvo,,,ndiko kunozi kurwa kwenzou huswa huxhitsokodzerwa hama weee,,if we can all go back kwaakatangira muchaona kt ariko even Chamisa on his last campaign rally vaChissano varipo akataura kt akangopinda chete the next morning achataura nevakaisa masancitions kt abviswe akati nyika haitongeke or haifambi mushe under masancitions bt kumas**** kwese uko aiudza vanhu kt hakuna masancitions,,the definition yemasanctions ndiyoyo yekuti ari kutonga anifanirwa kt atadze kutonga zvachose, vanhu vari pasi pake vanofanirwa kutambura and kumupandukira,,and who benefits???,, also kana muchiti hatina masancitions ko seiko nyika dzimwe dzepasi rino dzichiti Zim is under sanctions,mapresidents like weSADC wese,AU,EU vanobvuma nekuziva wani kt ariko saka vanopenga or kunyepa ere kana vachiita advocate kt Zim sanctions must go,, gentlemen zveshuwa vatongi wedu vane zvavari kushaisha munhu haangagoni zvese bt sanction ririko bvunzaiwo chero Chamisa chaiye
ȼøɍɍᵾᵽŧɨȼɨȺn · 5 months ago
"We Are Children Of The Great Munhumutapa", Sanctions Will Not Stop Zimbabwe's Development - Mnangagwa
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said Zimbabwe must strive to thrive despite the difficulties the nation is currently facing due to sanctions imposed by Western countries, particularly the United States of America.
Speaking to businesspeople at the Second Edition of the ED Mnangagwa Business Summit held in the capital Harare on Friday, Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe has been resilient for more than two decades under sanctions.
He also scoffed at claims by U.S. officials that the Zimbabwe Development and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA) is not a sanction and that Zimbabwe’s economic problems were caused by mismanagement and widespread corruption. Mnangagwa said (via Business Times):
Despite the challenges that we are facing, due to the continued illegal and heinous sanctions from the United States of America, we must push the frontiers of our country’s success and prosperity. This task and burden rests upon us as Zimbabweans.
We have been resilient for the last 23 years under sanctions, and no amount of propaganda, under whatever guise, will fool us.
All forms of illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe must be immediately and unconditionally removed.
These sanctions are illegal, unjustified, and cruel to all the people of Zimbabwe…
We have come this far under sanctions, we have realised unprecedented success milestones and registered indisputable GDP growth; we shall keep marching forward.
We are a resilient people and the descendants of the Great Munhumutapa. Against all odds, we are realising prosperity and a higher quality of life for our people.
The United States imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2001 due to concerns related to human rights abuses, corruption, and undermining democratic processes.
The sanctions targeted specific individuals and entities associated with these violations and were aimed to block the assets of those involved and restrict their travel to the United States.
President Joe Biden recently signed an Executive Order terminating the national emergency with respect to Zimbabwe, effectively revoking Zimbabwe-specific sanctions.
However, on 04 March 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 11 individuals, including Mnangagwa, and three entities for their alleged involvement in corruption or serious human rights abuse.
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Shurugwi · 5 months ago
Who is fooling who