Today, Ba Malume was listening to the radio when he heard people discussing Zambia’s goal of producing 10,000 megawatts of electricity by 2031. Immediately, laughter broke out inside the village shop. “Ten thousand megawatts?” one man shouted. “Ba Malume, not long ago we were talking about load shedding. How can people now be talking about 10,000MW?” Another man laughed so hard he nearly spilled his drink. “At this rate, next year they’ll tell us electricity will be growing on trees!” The whole shop erupted with laughter. Ba Malume quietly lowered the volume of the radio and looked at them. “My sons,” he said, “let me ask you one simple question. If a farmer harvests enough maize this year, should he stop planting for next year?” The laughter suddenly disappeared. The boys looked at each other and shook their heads. “Exactly,” Ba Malume replied. “A wise person prepares for tomorrow before tomorrow arrives. Only a goat waits for hunger before looking for grass.”
He leaned forward and continued. “The problem is that many of you think electricity is only for switching on lights and watching football. Electricity is much bigger than that. Electricity powers mines. Electricity powers factories. Electricity creates jobs. Electricity attracts investors.” He pointed toward the trading center. “Imagine opening a welding workshop, milling plant, cold room, or factory without reliable power. It can’t happen.” Then Ba Malume started counting projects on his fingers. “The proposed Sinazongwe Coal Project is expected to produce about 600MW. The Kyiindu Solar Project around Lusaka is projected at more than 600MW. Maamba’s planned expansion could add around 700MW. Mukuni has plans for roughly 200MW. ZESCO is pursuing projects targeting over 1,000MW. Chisamba Phase II is adding another 100MW, while Chipata is expected to receive 100MW.” One young man interrupted, “Ba Malume, those numbers are too many.” Ba Malume laughed loudly. “My son, that’s because you’ve never counted anything bigger than your betting slips.”
The shop burst into laughter again as Ba Malume continued. “And notice something else. The country is no longer depending only on hydro power. Solar is growing. Coal is growing. Other energy sources are growing too. That means when drought comes again, the pressure on electricity will not be the same.” He paused before delivering his final lesson. “Mockery has never built a power station. Mockery has never created jobs. Mockery has never generated a single megawatt. Vision always sounds impossible to people who only look at today.” Even the village’s loudest critic had gone quiet. Ba Malume stood up, adjusted his cap, and smiled. “My sons, 10,000MW is not really about keeping the lights on. It is about powering industries, creating jobs, attracting investment, and maybe one day exporting electricity.” Then he pointed at the group and laughed. “Besides, if we reach 10,000MW, some of you will finally run out of excuses for why your phones are always off.” The entire shop exploded with laughter as Ba Malume walked away victorious once again.
