According to his spokesperson, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema is dissatisfied with the country’s 12-hour power outages.
Zambia’s power utility, Zesco Ltd, announced crippling 12-hour power outages on Wednesday due to low water levels in the Kariba dam, which is used for hydropower. The removal of a 150MW generator at the Maamba Collieries power plant for routine annual maintenance from January 4-20 exacerbated the situation, according to the company.
But, according to presidential spokesperson Anthony Bwalya, Mr. Hichilema is disappointed that Zambians are experiencing power outages.”He is as disappointed, as all of us are because this issue of load-shedding has the potential to disrupt our economic growth agenda.
“The president and the administration are working hard to ensure that this issue does not arise again,” Mr. Bwalya said in an interview with a local radio station.
He blamed the problem on previous governments’ insufficient investment in the energy sector, saying there was a need to diversify investments to other sources of energy.
He said the president – who has previously said his government had ended power cuts – was “up to the task” in addressing the situation “but we need to give him time”. Zambians on social media, however, have been less forgiving, reminding Mr. Hichilema of his previous claims and promises.
