Darkness Rationing

The call it power rationing, load shedding. But in fact it has become such a nuisance, such a pain in the backside that I cannot but call it 'darkness rationing'! Tanesco does not even follow their own power cuts schedule anymore. The power goes off at any time now, and we have just a few hours of electricity on average in a period of 48 hours. I don't want even think or count anymore how much this situation cost me money in terms of burnt out appliances and petrol and maintenance of the generator I run from time to time when really in need. Total failure. I don't want to think about economy implications of this state for all Tanzanians especially those who depend totally on power. I read somewhere that only 40% of all Tanzanian companies, big and small businesses run on generators these days. The rest sits and cannot do anything, they just cry and count losses. God help us all!

Stone Age

Yet another night in darkness. The power rationing in Tanzania is getting worse and worse day by day. In the last 48 hours we had only 7 hours of power. How can you live in a reality like this? Going backwards in the 21st century instead of ensuring constant uninterrupted power supply for the Nation's growth, prosperity and development...

And Then...

 The darkness embraced Tanzania day in day out... and then a man created solar charged portable lamps...

Secret

Do you know the secret of how to make an entire nation happy and ecstatic in an instance? In one click? Just wait for the moment when Tanesco switches the power back on! This is something unreal, something out of this world, something that speaks volumes about us, humans, here in Tanzania, and indeed elsewhere in the world, where the power over things like electricity and our, us minnows, dependance on it, makes for this strange relation where we accept the matter of things as it is, and see the commodity for which we pay and we should be provided unfailingly, as a rare luxury. Getting ecstatic when the power is restored instead of demanding a permanent solution to this abnormal situation! So sad. 

Water

A new year has begun with empty water pipes. Reason for empty pipes? Water Authority which administers the pipeline from the Lake to Butiama did not pay electricity bills to Tanesco (Electricity Supply Company). How comes we pay water bills and yet they get cut off from power grid and now God only knows how many people - 40-60 thousand people - along the pipeline are forced to fetch water from contaminated creeks and streams, catch rain water from roofs whenever rain comes (which does not happen often, unfortunately, this season) or from scarce waterholes in the area...

Tanesco

Coming back to Tanzania from North America and Europe where noone remembers when it was the last time there was a power failure, not caused by some natural calamities like hurricane, extreme frost, snow, flooding, earthquake and so forth, and finding myself in a situation where there is no single day without power cuts in Dar es Salaam and elsewhere around the country, it is really hard to adjust to the reality of uncertainty - when they will cut the power, if they will cut the power, how long it will take to restore the power and so forth... These are the real life questions! Being helpless as I am in this situation, I cannot but laugh watching this piece of comedy from a popular group in Tanzania. Those of you who understand swahili, enjoy... For others, you have to come here to understand what I am writing about.