By Chantelle Muzanenhamo
Organizers of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) issued an apology following a 15-minute power cut that interrupted Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s speech at the Zimbabwe International Business Conference yesterday.
The incident occurred shortly after Industry and Trade Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu invited Chiwenga to take the stage. As the Vice President prepared to address attendees, the room unexpectedly went dark, and Chiwenga remained seated as power flickered back on for a brief moment before going off again. Electricity was finally restored through a backup generator approximately ten minutes later.
Minister Ndlovu promptly addressed the situation, expressing his apologies to the Vice President and the audience, which included several foreign delegates.
“I want to sincerely apologise to our guest of honour (Chiwenga) for the technical fault we are experiencing and want to extend the same apology to you all,” he said.
ZITF Chairman Busisa Moyo later explained the cause of the blackout in a statement, attributing it to an unexpected fault on the power line supplying the fairgrounds.
“We seem to be experiencing an overload on the normal power line,” Moyo noted.
He also indicated that the conference’s backup generator from the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) had also encountered a technical issue.
Moyo reassured attendees that ZITF management is committed to upgrading its facilities, including plans to solarize all exhibition halls. He expressed gratitude for the understanding of the attendees.
Despite the disruption, Chiwenga proceeded with his speech without referencing the power outage.