By A Correspondent| As the United Nations announces that Zimbabwe’s food and liveability crisis is a result of human rights violations by the government, ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa has turned the sharp stick onto something else, saying the poor rainfall is the cause.
Speaking Friday afternoon at Kuwadzana, Mnangagwa said Kariba has “no water.”
He went to the point of saying Kariba is now going into the third year without water.
His claims are opposite those of the NASA authority who reveal: As of December 27, 2019, water levels in Lake Kariba stood at 8.36 percent of what is needed for power generation. In December 2018, the lake stood at 51 percent; in 2017, it was 37 percent.
Another intrigue is the government has continued say Victoria Falls which feeds into Kariba is incessant with water while at the same time Mnangagwa is contradicting. The government spokesman Nick Mangwana says there is an abundance of water in Vic Falls.
Mnangagwa was speaking about the ongoing energy crisis.
For over 40 years to date it has been public knowledge that the nation cannot rely on Kariba dam for its energy sustenance and solar energy being the best alternative, Mnangagwa dished out a million dollar solar power contract to convicted Fraudster Wicknell Chivayo in 2015.
But Mnangagwa blamed everything on poor rains.
He told Harare residents:
“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 …the dam used to give us 1050 in Kariba, the water levels have gone down, to the extent that we are now getting only 100 or 90 megawatts.
“The other 900 we are failing because there is no more water. Now this is now poverty is it not?
“Because in the houses and in the factories we will be needing electricity. Now when things to 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 made is coming from right now(sic).
“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.”