Zambia VP rules out return to load shedding, says 10,000MW target holds

Vice-President Mutale Nalumango said Zambia will not see a return to load shedding even if the coming rainy season delivers less rainfall than expected. The assurance, she told the News Diggers! Mind Your Business Podcast, rests on the government’s expanded energy mix and a 10,000-megawatt generation target that would cover domestic demand and leave room for exports.

“Load shedding was not a new thing in this government. We came, we found there wasn’t so much [done],” Nalumango said. “We have run as fast as any caring government will do to find a mix of how to provide electricity. Forget about load shedding. Once again, I will say with conviction, all things being equal, unless somebody higher than human comes with some interference or intervention, what I am saying to the Zambians is that the issue of electricity is gone.”

She acknowledged the UPND administration was slow to implement its planned power reforms after taking office. Hydropower alone, she argued, could not keep pace with population growth or industrial demand. Solar is the main addition, and Nalumango said every province would eventually produce more power than it consumes.

The 10,000MW target is the centrepiece of her case. That figure, she said, will serve local needs and also generate a surplus for cross-border sales. “Zambians, you can trust me on this one, no load shedding. This is not a political or electoral issue, it is a developmental matter.”

The election is Thursday. Nalumango was blunt about the opposition’s chances. Asked about her earlier statement that President Hakainde Hichilema would accept defeat, she said the caveat was procedural, not a sign of doubt. “Like they say in a plane, you know when you get into a plane they will say ‘in an unlikely event’, because they know that it (plane crash) won’t happen. So, I am saying in the unlikely event, and this one is the most unlikely event, that Mundubile can get more votes, we are democrats.”

She dismissed NRPUP candidate Brian Mundubile’s pledge to cancel student loans as “dreams”. The opposition, she said, had not done the arithmetic. “They couldn’t even give meal allowances, now what are they talking about? You know this is just dreaming. My son Mundubile, grow up, young man. You can’t do such. You don’t just wake up and say we will cancel loans. Have they even done the assessment? Do you know the figures?”

Loan repayment, she suggested, should be tied to a graduate’s earnings rather than wiped out by decree. “The loan repayment should be dependent on what the person does after. It is so good that it is unrealistic. Stop lying to the people.”

She also hit back at Makebi Zulu’s suggestion that a change of government would restore the order of the Edgar Lungu era. Nalumango framed that as a return to violence and graft. “To the beatings? Is that taking care [of the people]? To the pangas? Is that taking care? To the corruption?” She accused the opposition of dismissing reserves because it did not understand them, and warned that reckless promises would spook the investors the economy needs.

“No wonder you talk about reserves as unnecessary, you don’t understand reserves,” she said. “What confidence are you putting into investors that we need? Stop pronouncing things.”

Her closing message to Mundubile and Zulu was almost conciliatory. “It is good you are trying, that is democracy, don’t say things that are not realistic, that are not doable. Accept, it’s okay. Since you are not coming [into power] this time around, you can do those things. You will continue to get real situations. Next time you try, you should be able to do better.”

The election takes place Thursday. Nalumango said the UPND expects to win and does not entertain the alternative.

For context on how power generation capacity shapes industrial expansion, see how power grid constraints are lagging behind India's data centre buildout.