Resist, Reject and Report Violence, #RRRV2023
4.4 Elite Cohesion
On 11 December, Ministry of Energy and Power
Development Permanent Secretary Gloria Magombo stated
that top government officials would be getting home solar
energy systems in a project managed by the Public Service
Commission (PSC). The government is installing solar
panels at the homes of at least 100 top government
officials, including service chiefs, cabinet ministers, senior
government officials, commissioners, and army generals, so
they will not endure the effects of the rolling power cuts.
Zimbabwe is currently facing a power crisis that escalated
at the end of November 2022 when the Zambezi River
Authority ordered Zimbabwe's Kariba South power station
to shut down due to dangerously low water levels. Most
parts of the country get power at night as the local power
utility, the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and
Distribution Company (ZETDC), is trying to manage a power
crisis. In an interview, Zanu PF spokesperson Christopher
Mutsvangwa said Mugabe's mismanagement of the country
was to blame for the current energy crisis. He said the
power crisis that the nation is currently facing is a product
of years of neglect and mismanagement by Mugabe and the
G40s. Mutsvangwa served in the party and government
under Mugabe's nearly 40-year rule.
ZPP recommends the following interventions:
4.4.1 The government should not misuse taxpayers' money
to fund the lifestyles of politicians and government officials.
The issue of electricity affects everyone, and all citizens are
equal according to the supreme law of the land; thus, senior
public servants should bear the same challenges every
other citizen faces.
4.4.2 The government should invest in rehabilitating powergenerating projects, including restoring Hwange Thermal
Power Station.
December 2022
The Zimbabwe Peace Project Monthly Monitoring Report
8