For power's sake, get cracking

God forbid, their Gaborone sojourn should not be marred by electricity blackouts. It is ironic that these are officials from the very line ministries that have long known about the impending electricity shortage.

Since 1998, they have been aware that the region's electricity consumption would outstrip the production. The then Luanda-based SADC Energy Commission knew about this eventuality. Even the Harare-based Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) was alive to the fact that the regional power demand won't be met by 2007. Yet nothing had been done to date to avert the crisis.