Mondlane supporters hit power supply

Maputo, 7 Dec (AIM) – Supporters of Mozambique’s fugitive presidential candidate, Venancio Mondlane, have shut down two power stations in the south of the country, forcing the publicly-owned electricity company, EDM, to introduce a regime of rotating power cuts.

A Saturday press release from EDM reported that a group of pro-Mondlane rioters went to the Ressano Garcia and Gigawatt power stations, both near the border with South Africa, and demanded the total stoppage of power generation.

EDM saw no alternative but to accept the demand. “Fearing unexpected consequences, both the Ressano Garcia and Gigawatt stations were forced to interrupt the production of electricity, a total of about 250 megawatts, for an indeterminate period”, the release said.

That led to a power deficit of 150 megawatts for all of southern Mozambique (Maputo, Gaza and Inhambane provinces, and Maputo city). That deficit amounts to about 30 per cent of the electricity demand from the southern provinces.

EDM says this situation has forced it to restrict power supplied to southern Mozambique “in a programmed and rotating manner, seeking to minimise the impact of the paralysis of those power stations on the consumers”.

The restoration of normal operation of the power stations “will depend on developments on the ground, and on the capacity to control the situation which is currently very complex and worrying”, says EDM.

The company apologies to its clients and assures them that it is making “all necessary efforts, so that the production and supply of electricity is normalised as quickly as possible”.

This latest disruption shows clearly that Mondlane’s goal is not simply to claim victory in the 9 October presidential election. He is determined to throttle the Mozambican economy and bring down the Mozambican government.

The government seems powerless to protect key installations, despite the claims made by Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda on Tuesday that there would be “zero tolerance” for further unrest.

Mondlane is in hiding, probably somewhere in Europe, and communicates with his supporters by live broadcasts transmitted on his Facebook page, which his supporters treat as commands.
(AIM)
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