electrical problems

The ferry arrived in Stonetown around 7PM. We decided to stay in a cheap guesthouse called the Haven. The owner of the house charged us $15 per night for 2 beds, mosquito nets, and bucket showers. He then informed us of the electrical situation on the island. Unfortunately, for the months of December and January, Zanzibar did not and still does not have electricity. The Zanzibarian government claims that there is only one electrician who is capable of fixing the country's power outage and that this electrician is on holiday in the Netherlands until the end of January. This means that posh hotels, restaurants, and businesses must operate using generators for water supply and other amenities. It did not take long to realize that the Zanzibarians were suffering due to this major problem. Without power, there is no running water. Locals must therefore rely on city wells and pay 500TSH per bucket of water. WATER=LIFE and many locals do not have enough money to constantly be paying for a daily supply.

During my time spent in Zanzibar, it amazed me that people somehow managed to survive given their severe circumstances. I just cannot believe that a government would allow its citizens to suffer for such a long time in the grueling heat. An electrical outage, like the current situation, occurred during the months of June and July 2009. It is obvious that Zanzibarians are becoming fed up with the government's laissez-faire approach.