“It Wasn’t Loadshedding”: Parliament Apologises to Mnangagwa And Explains Budget Speech Blackout
The Parliament of Zimbabwe has apologised to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the nation following an unexpected power outage on Thursday as Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube wrapped up his 2025 National Budget presentation.
In a statement, Parliament clarified that the incident was not due to scheduled load-shedding but was caused by thunderstorms and high winds, which disrupted overhead power lines. This led to a trip at a 132kV feeder supplying electricity to the substation that powers Mt Hampden, including the New Parliament Building.
Adding to the chaos, the standby generator at the New Parliament Building failed to activate automatically. Parliament revealed that the generator’s memory settings were affected by the power surge, delaying its function. Power was restored within five minutes after the generator was manually reset.
Parliament assured the nation that steps are being taken in collaboration with relevant stakeholders to prevent similar disruptions in the future.
Public Reaction
The apology sparked mixed reactions from Zimbabweans, with many pointing out the irony of Parliament apologizing for a situation that ordinary citizens face daily. Here’s what some had to say:
@MrSPinde:
But there is power cuts daily to ordinary Zim ..its a just normal thing in Zim
waltermzembi:
Parliament has always been the theatre of embarrassing Presidents , remember how the other one was made to read stale speeches , wrong speeches , now this power failure on the incumbent is just a rehearsal , how on earth do you commission such a grandiose project without power back up ?
@Sirroco4:
So you are apologizing for thunder and high winds??
@UncleMakukula:
What of an apology to the nation at large for putting them in darkness for 20 hrs a day without power.
@raschamer:
If its thunder why apologies for something which is beyond your control 👌
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