Zambia’s Energy Dreams: Big Promises, Dim Light

Kumwesu opinion | Zambia’s Energy Dreams: Big Promises, Dim Light

Another day, another power deal.
Another grand promise, another flickering bulb.

Zambia’s government announced it had secured a stunning 5,000 megawatts of clean energy investment from the UK-based Echo Eight Investments Limited, promising to end the country’s crippling load-shedding by December 2025.

A few months earlier, it was the 2,000 megawatts solar partnership with the UAE’s Masdar, hailed as the solution to our blackouts and a power import deal with Tanzania via the newly launched Zambia–Tanzania Interconnector project.

Yet, while ministers celebrate and newspapers splash bold headlines, most Zambians are still boiling maize by candlelight and charging phones at the nearest barbershop.

Let’s be honest: We have heard it all before.

Energy Minister Makozo Chikote says Echo Eight will deploy 5,000 megawatts “within six months” once approvals are in. Six months! In a country where building a single school takes years. Where approvals for even a small business stall endlessly in dusty government offices.

Yes, Echo Eight says they have capital ready. Yes, they promise patented 3D solar technologies and rooftop wind turbines. It sounds impressive almost too impressive. Skepticism is not cynicism; it’s experience.

After all, the Masdar deal, signed with great excitement in 2023, is still stuck at promises. No panels, no plants, no lights just press statements.

The government is good at signing papers. Not so good at building infrastructure.

They announce, they pose for photos, they assure “fast-tracking” for credible investors then the projects disappear into a swamp of red tape, inefficiency, and political forgetfulness.

Meanwhile, we, the people, wait.
And wait.
And wait.
Zambia’s energy sector doesn’t just need more megawatts. It needs a complete system overhaul cutting corruption, fixing broken institutions, enforcing accountability, and insisting on strict timelines.

Otherwise, these shiny new deals will fade like the others, leaving us in the dark.

With elections barely a year away, such big announcements are politically convenient. “We are ending load-shedding!” sounds great on a campaign poster. But Zambians are tired of promises that only burn out faster than the kerosene lamps we still use.

Real progress isn’t measured by how many MOUs you sign in London boardrooms. It’s measured by whether the lights come on at night in Chingola, Chipata, and Chalala.

Until then, excuse us if we keep our celebrations muted. We’ve been promised bright futures before and ended up sitting in the dark.

April 28, 2025
©️ KUMWESU