Power Politics: Inside Zambia’s Broken Energy System and the Quiet Collapse of ZESCO
By Brian Matambo | Sandton, South Africa
Zambia’s energy crisis is no longer just a technical failure, it is a political indictment. As millions of citizens endure up to 19 hours of load shedding daily, explosive claims have emerged accusing the government, linked cartels of orchestrating the systematic collapse of ZESCO, the state power utility.
In a fiery interview on Emmanuel Mwamba Verified, President Kasonde Mwenda of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) laid bare what he described as a deliberate and dangerous sabotage of Zambia’s energy sovereignty. “ZESCO has been financially destroyed through predatory contracts and crooked power deals,” he said, calling it a “technical population plunder.”
According to Mwenda, ZESCO is forced to buy electricity from Maamba Collieries at 14 cents per kilowatt, hour, only to resell it at 6, 7 cents to domestic and commercial users. Worse still, ZESCO reportedly supplies power to private firms such as Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) at a heavily discounted rate, as low as 3, 4 cents, who then flip it to mining companies and neighboring countries at a markup of over 11 cents, especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“ZESCO is being strangled. It buys high and sells low. The profit goes not to the people, but to middlemen and politically, connected traders,” Mwenda charged.
He accused the current administration of President Hakainde Hichilema of secretly signing multiple power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Independent Power Producers (IPPs), without disclosing the cost or terms to the public. Among the companies cited were Grinco, Canon Power, and Enterprise Power, all of which export electricity to South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, and the DRC, even as Zambia remains in darkness.
Mwenda alleges that during the peak of the 2023 drought, when Zambia’s energy supply was critically low, these companies were granted export licenses. “On 2nd April 2024, Zambians were plunged into blackouts, and yet 50 megawatts were approved for export to the DRC,” he said. “How do you explain a country that cuts off power to its own citizens but supplies outsiders?”
He also pointed to what he described as fraudulent solar energy deals. He cited a recently launched solar plant in Central Province that allegedly receives payments even when it fails to generate power. “These are shell companies, set up with promises, not production. They get paid for power they don’t deliver, while ZESCO foots the bill,” he said. “It’s theft on paper, legalized through contracts.”
Under these circumstances, ZESCO’s mounting debt and operational instability are no mystery. “The problem is not water levels or poor management. The problem is the political capture of the power sector,” he said. “They’ve turned our electricity grid into a cartel.”
Citizens across the country are reeling. One caller from Makeni said he received only 65 units of electricity for ZMK500 kwacha, highlighting just how expensive and inefficient the system has become for end users. Meanwhile, load shedding continues, despite government promises in January 2024 that it would end by June.
For Mwenda, this crisis reflects a deeper betrayal: “They care more about foreign contracts than your refrigerator. They’ve sold your light, your heat, your comfort, all for kickbacks.”
As the 2026 elections loom, the question is no longer whether Zambia’s energy sector is broken. It’s who broke it, who profited, and who will pay the price.