| Still spiraling downward, still haven't hit bottom. |
| 80 percent unemployment, 1600 percent inflation and four hours of electricity a day sounds like the definition of "bottom." |
Beset by the world's highest inflation and chronic shortages of staple foods and fuel, weary Zimbabweans are preparing for yet more hardships: power cuts of up to 20 hours a day. The state-owned Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority announced yesterday that it would cut electricity to residential areas in order to keep irrigation schemes running at the few farms still growing wheat. Harare's residential areas should prepare for power cuts from 9pm until 5pm the next day, said the statement in the state-owned Herald newspaper.
"We are going backwards. We used to have electricity, water, food and fuel, now we don't have regular supplies of any of those things," said Harare worker Iddah Mandaza. "We will be scavenging for firewood just like back in the rural areas."
| "I just can't figure out what happened..." |
The news comes as Zimbabwe enters its winter months, when night-time temperatures can drop to freezing. Many homes rely on electric heaters.
The company said the cuts were necessary to ensure farmers had enough power for irrigation schemes for winter wheat. The country used to be self-sufficient in wheat and maize but has been dependent on food aid for seven years, since Robert Mugabe's government began seizing white-owned farms. The government has warned of a bad harvest of maize, so it needs to ensure a good crop of wheat.
The country's capacity to generate electricity has fallen during the economic collapse, which has seen the economy decline by 50% since 2000 and inflation of 2,200% and still climbing. The state power company has not adequately maintained or replaced ageing generators. Zimbabwe produces about 60% of its power from the hydro-electric plant at Kariba dam and the coal-fired Hwange plant. It relies on imports from South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo for the rest, but has not been paying its bills.
Harare residents are also facing water cuts; several suburbs have gone without piped water for up to three weeks.
The news of the power cuts came as the Pan-African parliament, meeting in South Africa, scheduled a debate on Zimbabwe for tomorrow. The organisation, part of the African Union, will discuss whether to send a fact-finding team to Zimbabwe to investigate ways to resolve the crisis.
| A fact finding team? By Gad! Why didn't we think of that? |
| I'll bet they have good lunches, unlike the average people in Zimbobwe. |
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