- The opposition party blames Mnangagwa for poor performance in the power sector
- Predict power shortages will persist
Zimbabwe’s opposition party, the New Innovative Modernisation Front (NIMF), has blamed the poor performance of the country’s power sector on the ruling party. The leader of the NIMF, Peter Munyanduri, speaks as the persistent erratic supplies of petrol, diesel, and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) have resulted in erratic supply and persistent blackouts.
Munyanduri lamented the appointment of an ”unqualified and incompetent” energy minister. “The Minister (of Energy) must be an electrical engineer. That someone with a qualification in law becomes a Minister of Energy is one cause of electricity outages,” Munyanduri said.
“For there to be electricity adequacy, there has to be no corruption in the appointment. To be superior and less educated will lead to a minister failing on his mandate. Corruption is causing energy deficits in the country.” he added.
Munyandari also predicted that the power challenges would persist without the modernisation of the Zimbabwean electricity sector. Therefore, he advised the need for promoting independent power producers in the sector. ”We need to modernise our energy sector by promoting independent power producers (IPPs) and giving them cash incentives for supplies of excess energy to the national grid,” Munyandari said.