Energy Shortages Affect Zimbabwe's Telecom Services

APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Zimbabweans must brace for more disruptions to telecommunications services after the country's sole fixed telephone company warned of operational constraints due to nationwide energy shortages.

Telecommunications services to and from the southern African country have been a nightmare in recent months amid speculation that ageing equipment was behind the difficulties to make or receive calls.

But state-run fixed telephone operator TelOne put the blame squarely on electricity and diesel shortages that it said have forced it to temporarily shut down some of its telephone exchanges during the past few months.

"In the absence of electricity, our telephone exchanges use diesel generators, and of late, there has not been a steady supply of diesel resulting in some exchanges shutting down completely until electricity has been restored," said TelOne spokesman Phil Chingwaru.

Zimbabwe is experiencing disruptive power blackouts blamed on the inability of the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) to meet domestic demand and a critical shortage of foreign currency to import electricity from neighbouring countries.

The country imports about 35 per cent of its power needs from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia.

Posted to the site on 22nd October 2007