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Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently inaugurated a Chinese-funded power station that he said would go a long way in easing power shortages ahead of national elections.
Mnangagwa is seeking a second presidential term on August 23. He has been undertaking popular programs presumably to garner votes. Analysts say, he is portraying himself as a savior of the country and is wanting to reassure voters about the state of the economy and that he could lift it from the present morass.
He opened a coal mine and a clinic recently before launching the 600MW coal-fired power plant in the northwestern town of Hwange.
A tense vote later this month, amid a crackdown on the opposition and a population battling hyperinflation, poverty and high unemployment is staring at people. Mnangagwa said the new plant would be a critical enabler of development, adding Zimbabwe was open for business. The country is facing a severe power shortage affecting its economy. Investors are shying away from the country due to several factors including acute power shortages. The government declared a sudden end to blackouts in July although most people still experience daily outages lasting a couple of hours.
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The new power station also allowed Mnangagwa to show he still has good friends in the international arena, where Zimbabwe is largely isolated. The plant, the expansion of a pre-existing station, is one of four energy projects undertaken with a US$1.2 billion loan from China, with which Harare has ties dating back to the fight for independence from Britain. Zimbabwe can’t access financing from international lenders like the IMF and World Bank due to payment arrears and is the target of Western sanctions over graft and rights abuses. Mnangagwa has long blamed the punitive measures for the country’s dire straits. The United States and Europe deny this allegation.
