On Thursday, Parliament experienced a power outage as Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube was concluding his 2025 national budget speech, causing a temporary blackout in the chamber.
As the lights went out, President Emmerson Mnangagwa was escorted from the darkened room while Parliament’s backup generators took time to restore power.
In an interview with ZimLive, ZESA spokesperson George Manyaya clarified that the outage was not due to load shedding, as some had speculated, but was caused by lightning. Manyaya explained that Parliament is on a dedicated power line, exempt from load shedding, and stated:
“There was a storm in the Parliament area, and unfortunately, lightning caused a temporary loss of power during the budget presentation. It’s a natural event and not load shedding as some have suggested.”
Zimbabwe has been grappling with severe power shortages, with outages lasting up to 18 hours per day. The country’s power utility, ZESA, has been struggling to meet the rising demand for electricity, exacerbated by low water levels at the Kariba Dam, which has reduced hydroelectric power generation.
Additionally, Zimbabwe’s aging thermal power stations, particularly the Hwange Power Station, have become increasingly unreliable due to outdated infrastructure and maintenance issues. According to ZESA’s subsidiary, the Zimbabwe Power Company, the country was only generating 1,083 MW of electricity on Wednesday, far below the national demand of about 2,000 MW.
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