Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa was yesterday forced to complete his State of the Nation Address (Sona) during the official opening of the 3rd Session of the 10th Parliament of Zimbabwe in darkness at the New Parliament Building in Mt Hampden.
Mnangagwa was forced to conclude his Sona using a torch provided by one of his aides following a power outage.
This is not the first time that Mnangagwa has suffered a similar fate after officials were left scrambling for alternative lighting when power was lost during the presentation of the 2025 national budget last year.
Coincidentally, deputy clerk of Parliament Nomasontho Sunga had, on October 21, written to Local Government and Public Works secretary John Bhasera requesting the ministry’s co-ordination and oversight in ensuring uninterrupted power supply during Sona.
“It is noted that there is an approved arrangement to run the event using the generator as the primary source of power, with ZETDC [Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company] power on standby, following previous power disruptions experienced during important sessions,” she wrote.
Sunga also requested that the generator be “serviced, fully tested and confirmed fit for uninterrupted operation during the event”, adding that ZETDC technical staff be “physically on standby throughout the proceedings to provide immediate response if required”.
She committed to ensure Parliament pays the service provider contracted for the generator service “as well as the provision of adequate fuel to power the system throughout the duration of the event”.
What had started as a festive mood with Zanu PF legislators greeting Mnangagwa with the song 2030 ndeyavo baba, a reference to the party’s campaign slogan for the extension of the President’s tenure by two years to 2030, ended in embarrassment after the power outage.
However, as Mnangagwa exited the House following the address, the same legislators sang Chisungo tasunga, further expressing their solidarity and commitment to the party’s leadership.
Parliament officials, who spoke to NewsDay, pointed to sabotage while shocked ministers were left scrambling to identify the source of the problem.
Speaker of the National Assembly, Jacob Mudenda apologised to Mnangagwa, adding that there were arrangements for an automatic switch over to a standby generator once there was a problem with electricity.
“It is, however, important to note that we shall go beyond what happened and trace the culprits and deal with them accordingly.
“And those that will be found wanting will regret the day of their existence,” he told Parliament after the address.
Meanwhile, in his address, Mnangagwa said the national economy was projected to grow by 6,6% in 2025, anchored on recovery in the agricultural sector, with record harvests of tobacco, maize and wheat, among other crops.
“These are a result of the implementation of the Agriculture, Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy.
“Under the strategy, the Pfumvudza/Intwasa Programme, has empowered over three million households with inputs,” he said.
“The livestock sector continues to grow, with the national herd now at 5,7 million; while milk production has increased from 76,7 million litres in 2019 to 115 million litres in 2024.”
Mnangagwa said the area under irrigation had expanded from 151 000 hectares in 2019 to 221 000 hectares in 2024.
“We are well on course to reach our target of 496 000 hectares,” he said.
“ These initiatives have gone a long way in our quest to build climate resilience, mitigation and adaptation.”
He said the mining sector had witnessed increased investment in gold, lithium, iron and steel production.
“The commissioning of new plants, independent power generating units and energy parks, among others, is ensuring that all sectors achieve targets with regards to value addition, beneficiation, job creation and growth of our gross domestic product (GDP).
“My government is committed to weeding out irresponsible mining stakeholders who cause pollution, degradation of the environment and damage to critical infrastructure.
“As we welcome investors in our jurisdiction, we expect that they will adhere to the Constitution and laws of our country, while also respecting our people, customs and culture.”
Mnangagwa said the manufacturing sector registered a 15,3% contribution to GDP.
“The success is attributable to significant investments in the steel, cement, dairy, cotton-to-clothing and pharmaceutical value chains, among others,” he said.
“Tourism is emerging as a critical pillar in our nation’s economic transformation.
“The sector’s solid performance has received global recognition, with Zimbabwe being recently awarded the Best Must-Visit Destination in the World accolade by Forbes magazine.
“Accordingly, Parliament is hereby called upon to expedite the passage of the Tourism Amendment Bill in order to sufficiently support the sector’s growth trajectory.”
Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe’s foreign currency generation capacity continued to strengthen with inflows standing at US$10,4 billion as of August 2025, an upward increase of 26,8%, from the US$8,3 billion recorded during the same period, in 2024.
“Consequently, foreign currency reserves increased to about US$900 million as at the end of September 2025, up from US$700 million in June 2025,” he said.
However, Chiredzi Central legislator Ropafadzo Makumire described Mnangagwa’s Sona as shallow for failing to address and inform the nation on the progress on sugar tax.
“We are almost closing the second year since the sugar tax was introduced and to date, nothing has been done, people are struggling,” Makumire said.
“The Sona is too shallow. It is not addressing the key things that are affecting the country, the idleness of the youths and unemployment.”
Dzivarasekwa legislator Edwin Mushoriwa said the Sona statement was merely a ritual to align with the dictates of the Constitution.
“The President in his maiden Sona in 2023 promised a number of Bills, but less than 10% of them were processed to become law,” Mushoriwa said.
“We expected the speech to contain an evaluation on the executive side for failure by his ministers to bring Bills to Parliament or even to push those that were gazetted.
“While the President applauded Parliament for its role, in practice Parliamentary powers has been usurped by the executive…a typical example is the budget process where disbursements are totally out of line with the Appropriation Act passed by Parliament.”
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