By A Correspondent| President Emmerson. Mnangagwa has bemoaned the dry spell affecting Zimbabwe adding that the current rainfall shortages had devastating effects on the general populace.

Mnangagwa said poverty was imminent due to the dry spell attributing the power shortages bedevilling Zimbabwe to the dwindling water levels in Lake Kariba.

He said this while addressing citizens in Harare soon after holding his monthly clean up campaign held every first Friday of the month.

He said:

“Look at how the sun is. We are on the 3rd of January, there is no rain. I am sure you heard that in this way, we are failing to get electricity.

Lake Kariba used to give us 1050 megawatts, but the water levels have gone down. To the extent that we are now getting only 100 or 90 megawatt. The other 900 megawatts we are failing because there is no more water.

Now now this is now now poverty is it not? Because in the houses and in the factories we will be needing electricity. Now when things get to this level, it means that our dam will continue without water isn’t it?

Now this will be poverty that will have come if water has not rained. Now that we are going into the third year without water, our country will go into hunger.

When the country is hit by hunger, people’s happiness goes low. Those hit by hunger will be unhappy. There is no way you can find a household without food for three days being happy.

So now the government must work to strengthen what we are doing. In other countries that are far away like in America, that is where our maize is coming from right now.

That money which was supposed to have been deployed in this country if there was rain, that is the money we are now using to buy maize from Ukraine, from Mexico, from South Africa, bringing it over here.”