A sudden power outage interrupted the budget speech of Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube in Zimbabwe's Parliament, raising concerns over the country's persistent energy crisis exacerbated by drought-related challenges.
Power Outage Disrupts Budget Speech in Zimbabwe Parliament
Power Outage Disrupts Budget Speech in Zimbabwe Parliament
Zimbabwe's Parliament was thrown into darkness during a crucial budget speech, highlighting ongoing energy challenges.
Zimbabwe's Parliament experienced an unexpected power outage during Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube's budget presentation, plunging the chamber into darkness. This incident occurred just as Ncube was concluding his address, attended by high-ranking officials, including President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga.
The blackout is a clear sign of Zimbabwe's prevailing energy crisis, characterized by frequent 12-hour power cuts driven by a prolonged drought that has severely affected electricity generation at the Kariba Dam, the nation's primary power source. In the wake of the outage, opposition members of parliament voiced their frustrations, suggesting that the incident epitomized the difficulties facing the nation.
According to George Manyaya, a spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa), the outage was unplanned, despite Parliament having its own dedicated electricity supply meant to be insulated from such cuts. Manyaya attributed the blackout to a lightning strike.
Before the unexpected darkening of the chamber, Ncube warned that the agricultural sector would face a significant contraction of 15% due to the ongoing drought. However, he remained optimistic, forecasting a 6% economic growth for the coming year, attributing this potential recovery to anticipated above-average rainfall, which could also help restore electricity supplies.
