Power cuts knock out Mugabe address

Power cuts today blacked out much of President Robert Mugabe’s state of the nation address, during which he promised to address Zimbabwe’s chronic electricity shortages.

Central Harare was hit by widespread outages minutes before state-run radio and television were scheduled to broadcast Mugabe’s speech live from Parliament. The television station ran cartoons until power was restored about half an hour into the traditionally hour-long speech.

Mugabe promised to reinvigorate a programme aimed at identifying new energy sources, including extracting oil from coal deposits and the biological production of fuels. Zimbabwe currently imports more than 30% of its electricity from neighbouring countries.

Power and water outages have become routine in Zimbabwe, which is caught in its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1980.

The often-violent seizure of thousands of white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to black Zimbabweans, combined with four years of drought, have crippled the agriculture-based economy.

Inflation has soared to 411% and unemployment is around 80%.

Last month, the national carrier Air Zimbabwe grounded its eight planes for 24 hours after running out of jet fuel for the first time. Mugabe blamed the loss-making airline’s woes on mismanagement and corruption.

He also expressed concern about the soaring cost of health care, which put basic services out of reach for many.

Zimbabwe, he said, was tarnished by what he called “British and Anglo-Saxon imperialism” – London and Washington have been frequent and harsh critics of his increasingly autocratic 25-year regime.

The US and European Union have imposed targeted sanctions against individuals and groups who work with Mugabe.

But Mugabe claimed Zimbabwe was winning back regional and international confidence.

“We have shown immense progress in the face of daunting challenges,” Mugabe told MPs, who included members of a new Senate elected on November 26.