Opposition political parties have slammed Zanu PF’s claims that the late former president, Robert Mugabe, is to blame for the current energy crisis, citing incompetence as a reason for households going without power for up to 20 hours.
According to Zanu PF Spokesperson Chris Mutsvangwa who was quoted recently, Mugabe and the G40 political faction that was believed to be aligned to him failed to invest in the country’s energy sector while they were still in power.
In his words, Mutsvangwa said: “The power crisis that the country is facing is a product of years of neglect within Zimbabwe in particular, the mismanagement harm feasted economic mismanagement of the last two decades of Mugabe and his G40s obviously has a negative pull, it is retarding the speed of recovery, but you can’t doubt there is recovery going on.”
On the other hand, the Zambezi River Authority wrote to the Zimbabwe Power Company late last month, stating that low water levels at the Kariba Dam necessitated the shutdown of the Kariba South Bank Power Station, resulting in the country’s current blackouts.
Zimbabwe’s main hydro plant is located at Kariba Dam, but it is believed that ageing equipment at Hwange Thermal Power Stations also played a role in reducing electricity generation.
Zimbabwe Communist Party (ZCP) General Secretary, Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena, was astounded by Zanu PF’s proclivity to blame others for its failures..
“We are spending over 20 hours in Zimbabwe without electricity. Electricity comes around 11pm and goes around 3 to 4 am. For this reason, people are not able to watch TV, we can’t do our ironing during the day, nor can we charge our phones. But what excuse does Zanu give? They then blame Robert Mugabe for the crisis,” he told CITE.
“For 37 years, Zanu PF defended the leadership of Robert Mugabe, they killed in his name, in the name of Zanu PF. They said Mugabe was a revolutionary and they also said Zanu PF were revolutionary.”
Zimbabweans, said Mabhena, needed to hear a better plan of how the energy sector could be revived, as that mattered the most.
“They now want to make us fools and think that Mugabe was running Zanu PF and the government alone, as if they were not there. They are busy defending (current president and Zanu PF leader ) Emmerson Mnangagwa today, when he is gone, they are going to blame him for all their failures,” said the general secretary.
“We should not accept a situation in which they want to separate their institution – Zanu PF from their leader.”
The ZCP party leader added that Zanu PF has failed to provide better solutions for Zimbabweans.
“Zanu PF continues to fail. It is clear they have no plan on how to deal with the electricity crisis in Zimbabwe,” said Mabhena, noting that his party, the ZCP, had a clear alternative policy for the energy sector.
“This is through our programme, ‘Completing the liberation for Zimbabwe.’ Our plan for Zimbabwe is very clear on how we should deal with the question of electricity.”
Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) Bulawayo Provincial interim Spokesperson, Swithern Chirowodza cited that incompetence was to blame for the electricity crisis.
“Mugabe is not to blame. After the current ZESA chairman (Dr Sydney Gaza) was suspended on allegations of corruption, Mnangagwa appointed him and fired the minister (Fortune Chasi). What we are seeing now is the destruction of infrastructure, unrelenting theft of ZESA infrastructure, outrageous incompetence where the county is not on shut down because of enemy force or warfare but under shutdown due to sheer unfathomable incompetence,” he said.
Chirowodza went on to say that Mnangagwa, was a member of Mugabe’s government, which the same ruling party members criticised.
“Mnangagwa was part of Mugabe’s security advisors, was part of Mugabe’s intelligence apparatus yet the industrial intelligence department did not appraise him of the energy sector crisis. Mnangagwa therefore cannot pass on the buck to his predecessor. In fact, when it comes to Mnangagwa, more blame should be attributed to him, why he was younger and supposed to have better foresight than the nonagenarian Mugabe,” said the CCC provincial spokesperson.
ZAPU National Spokesperson, Msongelwa Ndlovu, concurred it was shocking Zanu PF members could blame the lack of forward planning on an individual when solving the energy crisis was the responsibility of an entire government.
“These are the same people who have served in Zanu PF, in one capacity or another, they wielded so much power and have been enforcers of all decisions since 1980,” he said.
“These claims are just a sideshow meant to absolve themselves from blame but the truth is they are as responsible to blame as Mugabe himself including all the crimes committed by the Zanu PF government, pre and post-independence.”
Ndlovu added, “blame for the energy crisis should lie squarely on Zanu PF the party and Zanuism the system.”
“They are trying to blame it on Mugabe because he is dead. All of them are culpable, complicit and are responsible for the crimes committed on Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans including Gukurahundi,” he said.
