Zambia has been hit by a power blackout this evening. Even the whole Copperbelt and the tourist capital, Livingstone have been in the dark for over an hour now at the time of this posting. With no communication infrastructure working, it is difficult to get access to ZESCO to establish what has caused the problem, efforts being made to restore power and how soon the situation would normalise. Lusaka Times has been unable to get today’s news content from the local servers in Zambia as they have been affected.
More information to follow later.
Yanguuuuu pa Zambia eeehh! When will this kinda nonsense stop kanshi?
Load shedding hits agricultural sector hard
01-19, 2008
South Africa’s agricultural sector says it is facing a nightmare. Western Cape farmers are conducting an in-depth analysis of the effect of load shedding. Some Northern Cape farmers say they’re facing ruin.Meanwhile, the City of Cape Town is hoping to tackle the road chaos triggered by outages by using solar power. A 3-month pilot project indicates it can provide uninterrupted power for four to five days.
But equipping all robots with the technology won’t come cheap –the panels cost R150 000 each, not forgetting the problem of vandalism. On cloudy days the system will still need electricity back-up to charge the batteries.
Electricity rationing could be on the cards for SA
Power rationing may be on the cards for South Africa as Eskom keeps pondering new ideas to ease the power crisis. Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga says a substantial reduction in the demand for electricity is necessary.Maroga says they are evaluating countries which have had a similar crisis.
Concern has again been expressed about the effects of extensive power cuts in the country on hospital and emergency services. The Human Rights Commission says power outages are impacting on the provision of essential services and thus on human rights.
Back-up generators provide only limited power, preventing hospitals from performing at their optimum.
And then someone is denying the effects of climate change and declaration of the current heavy rains and floods as a national disaster. Disappointing you are Austin. Effects of climate change are real and lets start doing something about them. The current floods even if you were disputing Austin, are a national disaster. If they are not dont you give me shit reason that the power black out was as a result of a generator being washed away. Is’nt that disaster enough??Austin think and apologise!!!
Zambia is abundantly blessed with many rivers and we let all the waters go to waste to the oceans without using them to the full. With projected increase in use of power we can still increase hydroelectric power generation without being adversely affected. We can generate power from the Chambeshi, Luapula, Luangwa, Kafue and Zambezi Rivers in more than one place on each of these rivers. Come on Zambia, lets go!! We can use them for agriculture too. Ask your friends from the Sahara, they will
tell you!
It is good coz we are just going back to our roots, development and civilisation was not meant for us, africa is always in reverse gear, when all these things the white left us with get old as they are now what can we do, just turn zesco into a fire wood collecting company to be supplying the same to house holds through out the country.gentlemen we have to admite failure, us africans i think we have failed, all the infrastructure that we have was belt by the west and now that we have faild to
Cont`d
build new ones or maintain the old ones,we are paying the price.
Why is it that we find it so hard to invest in infrastructure or just build new ones, with us as long as the cow is giving us the milk that is all we need, look at zccm, zcbc,znbc, independece stadium,zesco,roads etc all of them left to us or built using the money left by the west,all have faced the same fate, we need to change or remain a dark continent forever.
How did we end up being led by PYSCHOPATHS?Failure to plan is planning to fail.
PRAGMATIST…How are you going to now bootlick during such a blackout?
Power generation and distribution requires big bucks for investiment and re-investiment to keep it running. This is the pivot of industrialization, so if it does not tick everything else will fail, especially the mining industry that we are depending on.
The government needs to pay extra attention to this.
Playing tricks to justify the increase in tariffs…..
With such incompetent people at the helm of ZESCO, I wonder why there has been no shake up. With the anticipated power shortages in 2008, what measures have been put in place to alleviate the shortages? Has Magande put money aside for infrastructure investment? We cannot live by the grace of God all the time.
The CEO of Zesco should step down,You can’t have our only primary security source of power in the nation collapsing like this.You can allow blackouts in certain areas like a compound say Mtendere,but not the whole country.You are chasing investors away all because of Sisala with his inexperience way of running Zesco.
Alot of experienced workers have left Zesco,thats why have blackouts now.
ZESCO let the country down at a crucial hour when African leaders were gathered in Zambia. There was a black out. No shake up was done. Now another one! #10 JB, I concur with you, it is a shame that our leaders never see the need to have new infrastructure. One would have thought that one would have seen a new stadium at Nkana during their best days. One could have thought that one would have seen Shoprite build new outlets as new “Infestors” but nothing. We strip off CARS (UBZ), ZA and
We have failed to run our own affairs…maybe we should call the colonial masters to come and take over
many other companies. We cannot build new infrastructure. Independence, Nkoloma, are stadia that we expect world cup participants to come and warm up in. “Huts” erected by Sun Hotels are new developments we can boast of? I wish you could visit even RSA and see how your friends are conscious about development. Zambia needs to turn everything upside down and kick the backs of some leaders. We are not amused to see these failures.
#17 not mine please use your own ID. #18 continued from 16.
Sisala must go
Problem with Zesco is never ending. I mean im 26 yrs old and from the time my mind started knowing what is right and wrong, there has ALWAYS BEEN POWER FAILURES! Cant ZESCO do something or plan something so that this PROBLEMS OF BLACKOUTS are once and for all a thing of the past. Western countries like NEW ZEALAND experience STORMS yet the kiwis can still sit and watch TV at night and not worry where the hell they put their candles !!!! well done ZESCO !!!well done
It’s not a Zesco problem now, its a disaster. Kariba dam has Cracked please inform anyone. My parents informed me from Chirundu. please this is not a joke
someone told of that Chirundu can be washed away please this is not a joke.
Chitapankwa once posted a blog that he was tired of lawyers and did’nt want to see a lawyer in state house. All that Levy has done is create business for lawyers: anti-corrution,NCC etc while the country lags in infrastructure development. Let have engineers and economists running the show.I yearn to see planned housing projects,roads & brigdes that can stand seasonal floods, planned & orderly growtn of towns. Since 1964 its been lawyers’ show manipulating constitions remember late mainza chona
#24 I don’t think having an economist or an engineer as president will necessarily solve the problem. Even Mwanawasa would do well if sorounded by a core group of ministers who give high priority to availability of electric power and its security. In my view Magande has done a good job for finance and economy. I wish there was another minister with a similar vision for energy and technology. We are paying the price for 10 years under Chiluba whose vision did not go beyond his pocket.
Nemesis #25 Silly FTJ left 7 years ago it won’t help musing over his tenure. Levy is now in cahrge.I agree the team around the president is important, but more critical is the leaders vision and drive. After all Levy has all the powers of higher and fire. He can even nominate members of parliament. If he has the vision and drive why can’t he fire the minister of energy and replace him with somone of Magande’s calibre?
Sisala Must Go!!!
Zesco continues to charge a large number of us a fixed charge for electricity even with frequent power outages. Loadshedding is done more in areas where there are no prepaid meters coz they know they will still have there money. Those thieves! We are paying more for little. Just subsidsing the mines which are not even paying tax. Now they have incresed tarrifs and the service is even worse. Thieves! Sisala Must GO!!!!
This problem will continue resurfacing as long as Zesco does not change its attitude towards its young and brilliant engineers. So my advice to Sisala is: Send those Accountants, HR personel, and Customer Service staff, whom you treasure most, for technical training and maybe they will be able to systematically analyse what the problem is in the system.
Nemesis, readers end up being leaders.Education plays an important part in the evolution of the minds of people.We need leaders with a thinking mind,who will think through a situation and find answers and not leaders who will create and leave us in the mire of poverty.LPM does not strike me as intelligent:we all know that.The man is afraid of intellectuals-remember the hulobaloo with Prof Chanda, and Chirwa lately.
Zesco CEO has clearly failed. Sisala has failed to deliver a clear strategic plan of how to increase generation, transmission and delivery capacity.What makes matters worse is that he is Levy’ appointee, hence is not accountable to the board.
There’s this silly myth that only an engineer can run Zeso? nonsense!, you need a good business manager who can partner with strategic financier’s to fund Zesco’s infrastructure expansion. C’mon, our population has drastically grown but we’re still using super ken’s infrastructure! God has given us brains and natural resources yet we lamentably fail to use them…our poverty and disorganisation is self inflicted, fyakuyi fwayila mwe bantu…
I really get amused at the praises showered on one Magande.This man has no vision whatsoever and the finances of this country are in a mess as he himself admits but he blames other ministries.If he is the custodian of our finances and planning, what does he tell the other ministers in cabinet or they don’t have cabinet meetings anymore? Or nobody takes him serious.If he had any guts he should have quit.
Maaaawe, meanwhile ZESCO UNITED is in the UAE through the bills we pay? They are camping while back home daaaarknesssssssszzzzz
Too much rain too much darkness?
The floods could have washed away the generators? Meanwhile the floods have not been declared a national disaster? Hey, my home country, which way are we going?
Its true that you need business managerial skills but to run ZESCO an engineering background is definately a plus. But let us see what caused the blackout. Does any know what happened at Kariba dam? I hope it does not come to that.
i hope so too.we can’t handle such.
Zesco is a disapointment to Zambia. It seems Zesco has nothing in storagy for emagence. Zesco has beem good at increasint tariffs but very bad at rendering services. We must prob the goverment of Mwanawasa how they gave the job to Sisala. No electricity no production in home and industries.Then how do you expect growth in GDP? Sisala why cant you just go.I TABEBA NAWE MWE!!!!!
This is a disaster`!
At the SADC conference last year we were told that a lizard caused the outagage. What caused it this time? May be we will be told that a frog caused it. ZESCO, wake up. You’re letting us down. Can we have the director fire?
If this happened in some country where leaders are serious, pipo responsible would have already owned up and resigned for such a seriouse event. But pa zed pipo ll just issue an excuse and life goes on. Its really embarrasing!
Zambia should invest in Wind Mills for electricity supply instead of depending on rivers. I say so because I am working for one of the biggest companies in the supply of Wind Mills, Siemens Wind Power Generation, where I am based in the IT-department at the headquarters, in Brande Denmark. It could be a very good alternative to the Kariba dams etc. We have these Wind Mills here in Denmark as well and I do not remember a song day we went without electricity since I came in 1990.
Zambia should invest in Wind Mills for electricity supply instead of depending on rivers. I say so because I am working for one of the biggest companies in the supply of Wind Mills, Siemens Wind Power Generation, where I am based in the IT-department at the headquarters, in Brande Denmark. It could be a very good alternative to the Kariba dams etc. We have these Wind Mills here in Denmark as well and I do not remember a single day we went without electricity since I came in 1990.
#35 “let us see what caused the blackout” thats how a person should reason. The same problem was observed in Zimzim too, there must be something serious.Let hear the cause and then we can effectively complain.
#42 you have a point but over governament donot know the what it meanz to invest All the generators we have are from the Kaunda era. Viva KK.
People who know about this will think the same as me. Let us learn from others
#44 That is why I fail to understand why we have a Govt? What is the Govt therefor, is it not for the people. Zambia should be a man centered society but it seems as thoungh it is now centered on a few. It is each one for himself and God for us all, how can we live like that. The big problem is that politicians are busy insulting each other instead of solving the real problems facing Zambians. One day it will be too late
Nearly all the assets Zed have were established in the Kaunda era. Since 1991, nothing tangable was constracted, apart from stealing in the name of fighting corruption. The country is very rich but leader are pathetic. Lets us learn from otherz as #45 said
Looks like Zam needs Muzungus to come and solve the problem. Nothing works without them, when they left we all queued up to buy basic essencials like the smelly Lifebouy soap, cooking oil, sugar, maize meal, bread from SUPERLOAF,parrafin to light up the Kolobois, we saw the close down of Mwaiseni and ZCBC stores.. Muzungus reappear then you taste chocolate side of life again, some are even growing big bellies
But guys muma shooter mama. You all make me miss home. I think this is part of freedom of expression. Thumbs up ba Zambia.The whole Southern Region is affected my power cuts now. Ba tusanga ba SA ukutangila tekufika. The only gud thing here is they let us know the area that will have load shedding. so ni internet check then make a move to another place so u can watch Zambia axing Sudan
This is what nepotism brings,INCOMPETENSE
te bufontini fye?
sisala li fontini he failed at cec now he is failing at zesco.
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