Load shedding an act of human negligence, incompetence – Moyo
By Edwin Mbulo in Livingstone
USING God as an excuse for load shedding because he is not available to answer is not right, says Joseph Moyo.
He says load shedding is an act of human negligence and accumulative incompetence.
Recently UPND deputy secretary general Gertrude Imenda told News Diggers that load shedding being experienced in the country has been caused by low water levels, which she said is an act of God.
She said when UPND promised to end load shedding, it was looking at factors which had nothing to do with acts of nature.
“When you plan something to say you are going to do this, it is an assumption that all things being equal, meaning without any external shock. The load shedding that we experienced in the immediate past years had nothing to do with the act of nature, it had something to do with operations, planning or lack of it,” said Imenda.
But Moyo, who is president of The African Woman Foundation (TAWF), said despite load sheding not being a UPND problem but an accrued issue from time immemorial, the ruling party must stop the “curse”.
“Load shedding is not an act of God but an act of human negligence and accumulative incompetence. It is not a result of water deficiency but accumulative historical leadership deficiency both on political and corporate leadership at the power utility,” he said. “It is upsetting to hear about water levels from Zesco each time they want to prepare our psyche for loading shedding. I can’t walk, but I have to find another way by using a wheelchair as an alternative. Using God as an escape valve because he is not available to answer is not right.”
Moyo noted that there is no way government or Zesco can continue to talk about water and rains year-after-year when there are alternatives to hydropower generation.
He said then minister of energy under the PF government told the nation that a ship was sailing from China with solar equipment as a way to avoid dependency on water.
“What happened? Where did the ship dock? Why has the country not looked at alternative sources of energy? Doesn’t the political and corporate leadership understand water levels by calculating to know what we had was going to get exhausted and plan ahead? Are they telling us that they are surprised at the dwindling water levels? Didn’t they foresee it coming?” Moyo asked. “As a patient who sometimes depends on assisted power plugged breathing device how would I survive? Power is all things to all men. To some it’s life or death. To some it’s generation of income for breakfast, lunch or dinner and yet some it is that elusive once in a day meal through a small business to afford that very meal.”
He advised political leadership and Zesco managment not to gamble with power.
“A week ago at the energy meeting our President captured the situation very correctly by admitting that the Zesco failures are as a result of both the past and present, of not looking at alternative sources to power the nation. This problem was not caused by the UPND led government. It is an accrued problem from past governments to date. However, this government should and must stop the curse,” Moyo said.
He mocked Zesco engineers as professionals who zoom up to the skies to check the clouds every day and night to determine whether “the next day, week or month the country will have rains so as to generate power”.
“As a country we must know that what brought us this far and sustained us, can not be what carries us further. If we came this far with a Fiat 127 car, we need an off-roader cruiser the next journey in powering the nation. Water cannot and should not be a perpetual political or corporate excuse. This does not hold water anymore,” he said.
“Poor planning at Zesco is not an act of God. It is an act of human negligence. It is also not about water deficiency but leadership deficiency. As I have stated this is not a problem brought by the UPND government. They found it. Even PF found it. But someone has to end this. For Zambians power is life or death in many other aspects especially that small business solely dependent on electricity with no capacity to fund alternative power for themselves.”
Moyo said being a Christian nation does not absorb Zambia from good planning and turn into spiritual Zombies waiting for fruits to fall.
“We got to shake the tree or climb. It is upsetting to hear about water levels from Zesco each time they want to prepare our psych for loading shedding. I can’t walk, but I have to find another way by using a wheelchair as an alternative way,” said Moyo.
