Pubic institutions, especially hospitals, were the worse hit as Zambia was plunged into total darkness on Sunday, November 24, following a national power outage.

Reports confirmed that major public hospitals, including the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka and Kitwe Teaching Hospital, were left in complete darkness due to the outage, disrupting healthcare services.

The country’s power utility company, ZESCO Limited, had announced that the nation experienced a power system disturbance at 20:15 hours, leading to a nationwide loss of power supply that affected the entire country.

A statement issued by ZESCO Acting Managing Director Justin Longo, confirmed that efforts were underway to restore power and resolve the unplanned outage, assuring the public that the company was working diligently to restore normal service as quickly as possible.

“ZESCO will keep the country updated on this unforeseen development,” Longo said in the statement.

“We regret the unplanned loss of supply and seek the support and patience of our customers during this time.

“ZESCO has committed to providing regular updates on the progress of power restoration and the cause of the disturbance.”

Zambia Monitor reports that the unexpected blackout caused significant inconvenience, particularly for essential services like hospitals, as well as households and businesses across the country.

“While the situation is still unfolding, ZESCO has emphasized its dedication to restoring normal service and ensuring that the power supply is fully restored to all affected areas as soon as possible,” the platform said.

The Ministry of Information and Media Permanent Secretary, Thabo Kawana, who also released a statement on the blackout, informed the nation that no deaths or critical incidents were recorded during this period.

Kawana, in a statement issued on Monday morning said this was despite the blackout affecting hospitals.

“During this period, backup systems functioned as intended. Specifically, the emergency generators at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) activated immediately, ensuring uninterrupted power supply to life support systems and other essential medical equipment.

“Further, government wishes to inform the nation that no deaths or critical incidents were recorded during this period. ZESCO restored power to UTH after 30 minutes, resuming normal operations,” he said.

Kawana further noted that the technical teams were currently investigating the cause of the outage and working to prevent similar incidents in the future, adding that “government assures the public of its commitment to maintaining reliable power supply.”

The Small-Scale Farmers Development Agency (SAFADA) of Zambia has warned of uncertainty on the future of the agricultural sector, stating that its outlook over the next 25 years remains uncertain and gloomy.

The Executive Director of SAFADA, Boyd Moobwe, who raised the concerns in a telephone interview with Zambia Monitor on Saturday, expressed regrets that the agric sector was facing critical challenges that could hinder its contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and overall economic growth by 2030.

Moobwe admitted that the rapid changes in agriculture due to new technologies and innovations, has been slow amid the inconsistent implementation of these advancements which raises questions about the sector’s ability to survive amidst the growing threats of climate change, political instability, and economic difficulties.

The SAFADA Director pointed out that many of the problems plaguing agriculture were self-inflicted.

“The current measures for agricultural and rural financing are inadequate due to poor data analysis and utilisation,” Moobwe said.

Agriculture, he said, “had the potential to revive the economy if proper policies were introduced and if small-scale farmers were fully involved in planning and implementing agricultural projects.”