A sudden power outage plunged Zimbabwe’s Parliament into darkness on Thursday afternoon, prompting President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s security detail to swiftly escort him out of the building in a state of panic.
The incident occurred while Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube was delivering the 2025 national budget speech.
Noting the seriousness of the situation, the Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda said, “I request your Excellency, the President, to take leave.”
The security immediately escorted the President out of the building using car lights from outside. They were also using phone torches.
While Mnangagwa was leaving, opposition MPs were shouting, “ZESA (Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority) yazviramba (ZESA has refused).”
The power cut is, however, attributed to a lightning strike during a storm in the area.
The ZESA spokesperson George Manyaya said: “Parliament is on a dedicated power line that is exempt from load shedding,” Manyaya explained.
“The temporary power loss was caused by lightning, not load shedding, as is being claimed on social media. This was an act of nature.”
The situation, however, highlighted the country’s ongoing energy crisis. Zimbabwe has been experiencing daily 18-hour blackouts due to a prolonged drought that has crippled energy generation at the Kariba Dam, the country’s main power source.
Former opposition legislator Fadzayi Mahere has criticised the President’s swift exit, saying, “I love how their leader couldn’t even stand the dark for two minutes. May someone kindly advise him that debilitating load shedding is what Zimbabweans go through every day. ”
ZESA has been struggling to meet the nation’s growing electricity demand amid worsening energy shortages.
Zimbabwean businesses are facing a difficult operating environment due to electricity outages, as reduced power generation at the Kariba Dam, resulting from low water levels, and frequent breakdowns at the Hwange coal thermal power plant, have severely impacted economic productivity.
Companies across various sectors, including major mining and manufacturing firms, as well as large-scale agricultural enterprises, are being forced to endure prolonged power outages lasting up to 18 hours daily.
Neighboring Zambia, which also relies heavily on the Kariba Dam for its power generation, is experiencing a similar crisis.
Despite forecasts indicating a promising 2024/2025 agricultural season, with normal to above-normal rainfall expected, the persistent power outages are likely to hinder productivity.
The mining sector, which includes subsidiaries of prominent companies such as Impala Platinum, Anglo American Platinum, and Sibanye-Stillwater, has also been severely impacted, with significant losses in production time and revenue.
“Power outages are a major constraint, with a recent survey conducted by the Chamber of Mines revealing that miners lost approximately US$500 million in potential revenue due to power outages in 2024,” stated Lloyd Mlotshwa, lead analyst at IH Securities, a few weeks ago.