Power outage causing chaos in Zimbabwe

By Tichaona Sibanda
22 October 2007

A catastrophic power failure has plunged most parts of the country into darkness, amid widespread anger as the few remaining businesses are now being forced to shut down because of the blackout.
A blackout that struck the capital city on Monday last week continues to leave more than 200 000 households and businesses without power, for the second week running. Clifford Muzira who runs a printing business in Southerton, told Newsreel on Monday that he has not been operating for a week owing to power outages.

‘Industry will soon collapse if government fails to rectify the electricity problem. I am based in Southerton and I can confirm most businesses there have shut down and this may soon spread to all cities and towns countrywide,’ Muzira said.

The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority said a faulty high voltage supply cable triggered a major power outage, knocking out electricity in much of Harare and surrounding areas.
A former MDC councillor in Harare, who asked not to be named, said estimates from his sources in Zesa believe an unprecedented 100 000 homes would not have electricity until later this week and another 100 000 would even have to wait longer, possibly weeks.

Harare resident Morgan Femai said institutions like hospitals are relying on generator power ‘to keep things going’. It’s reported that most clinics and hospitals that are usually spared power cuts, have been running standby generators for over a week and were fast running out of fuel. Staff at one clinic said patients were moved out after its standby generator overheated and broke down during its first constant use.

Other reports said a blood bank has cut back its operations and shifted bloodstocks to facilities in unaffected parts of Harare. Femai said householders like himself in Budiriro, with scarce meat and other perishables, called friends in Ruwa to use fridge and freezer space.
In Zaka West, Misiso mission near Jerera growth point, with a hospital and school, has closed its doors because they are unable to continue without electricity and water.
This has left Jerera without educational and medical facilities as the nearby government hospital never worked because of underfunding. The nearest hospital is now nearly 80 km away, leaving people in need of urgent medical help in serious trouble.
The outages are said to be the worst power cuts in the country’s history as it has affected millions of people.

The country imports nearly 40 percent of its power from Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Last month Mozambique said it was reducing its output to Zimbabwe because of a long-standing debt of US$35 million.