Zambia faces major power crisis as drought hits world’s largest man-made dam

The climate-driven crisis has caused the country’s main source of electricity, the Kariba Dam, which is also the world's largest man-made lake by volume to dry up.

The Kariba dam lies on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, 200 kilometres (125 miles) south of Lusaka, the capital.

It was built in the 1950s to generate electricity by trapping water from the Zambezi River. However, after months of drought and rising temperatures, the dam is barely operating.

The lake now has insufficient water to run the country’s hydroelectric turbines and is facing the possibility of a shutdown for the first time since its construction.

It is currently running at less than 10% of its normal capacity, with only one of six turbines operating on the Zambian side.

The power shortage has led to regular outages, with small and medium businesses bearing the brunt of the crisis.

 In some cases, these outages last for days, affecting daily life and severely impacting small and medium start-up businesses.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Energy has assured that the government is working tirelessly to prevent future occurrences of load shedding by 2026.

“Two years from now, Zambia will be a net exporter of power. We are not sleeping. In two years, hold me accountable,” Mumba was quoted.

ZESCO, the state-owned power company is also receiving funding to address power shortages.

As part of these efforts, more than 23 diesel generators arrived in the country last month, to be installed at various locations in markets around Lusaka.