Emmerson Mnangagwa, the president of Zimbabwe, inaugurated a power plant on Thursday (August 10, 2023) funded by China. As gathered by USAfricaonlin.com Mnangagwa said the power plant would significantly reduce power shortages in the run-up to elections.
Mnangagwa, who is intended and determined to run for president again on August 23, has been busy cutting ribbons as he tries to project an image of being a do-gooder and reassure voters about the status of the economy.
Before traveling to the northwest town of Hwange to formally inaugurate the 600MW coal-fired power plant on Thursday (August 10, 2023), he opened a coal mine on Monday (August 7, 2023), and a clinic on Wednesday (August 9, 2023).
Analysts anticipate a contentious vote later this month as a result of the opposition’s persecution and the dissatisfied populace’s struggles with hyperinflation, extreme poverty, and high unemployment.
Mnangagwa said the new factory will be “a critical enabler of development” and that Zimbabwe was “open for business” in a speech to supporters at a nearby stadium following the unveiling.
Millions of people were left in the dark for up to 19 hours a day in late 2017 when acute power outages reached their worst in the landlocked nation of southern Africa.
Even though most people still face daily outages lasting a couple of hours, the administration declared a sudden end to blackouts in July.
Mnangagwa was able to demonstrate that he still has close friends in the international community, where Zimbabwe is mostly isolated, thanks to the new power plant.
The plant, which is an enlargement of an existing station, is one of four energy projects funded by a $1.2 billion loan from China, a country with which Harare has historical links that date back to the country’s struggle for independence from Britain.
“China is always ready to help Zimbabwe to achieve its goal to uplift its people,” Chinese ambassador Zhou Ding told the stadium rally.
Zimbabwe is under western sanctions for corruption and human rights violations and is unable to obtain finance from international lenders like the IMF and World Bank due to payment arrears.
Mnangagwa has long attributed the country’s precarious situation to the punitive measures, which the United States and Europe dispute.
He assured supporters in Hwange that Zimbabwe would now be self-sufficient in terms of its energy requirements and that the government would continue to put its emphasis on expanding the economy “by thinking outside the box”.
