Power crisis demands urgent action :: Mmegi Online

Botswana is in the dark. For some time now, families have cooked by candlelight, students have strained their eyes over dim phone screens, and businesses have haemorrhaged money running through generators.

The national power crisis is not just an inconvenience, but it is a full-blown emergency crippling daily life and throttling economic growth. While Minerals and Energy Minister Bogolo Kenewendo’s efforts to renegotiate electricity imports from South Africa are a start, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) government must treat this crisis with the urgency it demands. Plans for 2027 won’t save us today. The numbers are staggering. Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) now spends over P400 million monthly on imports after South Africa’s Eskom hiked tariffs by 6, 800% in weeks—from 80 thebe to P5.55 per kilowatt hour. This exorbitant cost has ballooned BPC’s debts to P2.6 billion, threatening even basic power procurement. As Minister Kenewendo admitted, Botswana risks being cut off the grid by Eskom entirely if debts mount further.

Meanwhile, emergency power costs R23 million a day. This is not sustainable. It amounts to economic suicide for the country.

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