Zimbabwe’s Power Paradox, When Policy Fails to Power the Nation

By Shingirai Vambe

In a moment that laid bare the contradictions at the heart of Zimbabwe’s governance, the lights went out, literally, on President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) yesterday, Tuesday October 28 2025 . The grandeur of the occasion quickly dissolved into irony as the Head of State was forced to finish his address under the dim glow of hand-held torches, a scene that perfectly captured the nation’s ongoing struggle with energy insecurity.

As the chamber descended into uneasy silence, Members of Parliament scrambled to illuminate their phones while aides hurriedly fetched torches to guide the President’s closing remarks. What was meant to be a show of national progress became an unintentional metaphor for Zimbabwe’s failure to keep its promises on energy reform.

In an unusual moment of contrition, Speaker of Parliament Jacob Francis Mudenda took to the podium to issue a formal apology to the President for what he described as an “unfortunate power interruption.” “We see it proper that we apologise to His Excellency for the power outage,” Mudenda said solemnly. “We shall go beyond and chase the culprit.” His vow to “find and punish” those responsible was met with more disbelief than reassurance, as critics argued that the real culprit was not an individual, but the government’s chronic failure to implement its own energy policies.

The incident has been blown out of proportion, being politicized.

The power outage at Parliament was not an isolated incident. Across the country, from government ministries to local councils, blackouts remain routine. Despite years of planning and the adoption of a National Renewable Energy Policy (NREP) in 2019, most state buildings, including the new multi-million-dollar Parliament Building constructed after the COVID-19 pandemic, continue to rely on old diesel generators rather than solar systems or other forms of renewable energy.

The 2019 policy had promised transformation. It stated that “Zimbabwe has vast renewable energy resources like solar, hydro, biomass and, to a limited extent, wind and geothermal, that to date have largely remained unexploited.” The document acknowledged the deepening supply-demand gap and committed government, NGOs, and the private sector to closing it through sustainable energy solutions. Yet, six years later, those promises remain largely unfulfilled.

The irony of the President delivering his national address in darkness has not been lost on observers. Analysts say the blackout highlighted how policies in Zimbabwe are crafted for the public, but rarely implemented by the state itself. “This is not merely an electrical fault, it’s symbolic of a system running on empty,” said Harare based, Moses Tapfumanei.

Critics have long accused the government of prioritizing politically connected tenderpreneurs over genuine national progress. Billions have been sunk into energy projects that remain unfinished, mismanaged, or mired in controversy. Meanwhile, ordinary Zimbabweans endure daily power cuts that paralyze small businesses and cripple essential services.

The new Parliament Building, hailed as a beacon of modern governance, was expected to reflect the nation’s commitment to sustainability. Instead, its dependence on a fuel-powered generator and erratic and scarce grid power underscores the persistent gap between rhetoric and reality.

For a country blessed with abundant sunshine and water resources, the continued dependence on fossil fuels and outdated systems is both costly and indefensible. As President Mnangagwa concluded his speech under torchlight, many Zimbabweans saw more than just a blackout, they saw the symbolic dimming of accountability.

The call construction and property developers to implement the new policy in their art of work, did not work for the POZ. solar system, renewable energy policy has sustained many families and the number is growing with the regulator now pushing for net metering, for households and companies with solar systems and excess power to contribute into the main grid and be incentivized.

Meanwhile Zimbabwe is preparing to take part in this year’s energy summit to be held in Zambia, in November.