Droughtstricken dam leaves economies powerless

A ll is not well with the waters of Lake Kariba, the world's human-made lake largest A punishing drought has drained the huge reservoir close to record lows, raising the prospect that the Kariba Dam, which powers the economies of Zambia and Zimbabwe, may have to shut down for the first time in its 65-year history.

-  Rachel Savage and Nyasha Chingono

Under the heat of the dry-season sun, the lake looks vast. But, earlier this year, a severe effect of El Niño caused the worst mid-rainy season dry spell in southern Africa in a century.

That has led to authorities rationing the water allowed to flow through the dam and, in recent months, power cuts of up to 21 hours a day in Zambia on the lake's northern side and 17 hours in Zimbabwe to the south.

The load shedding is devastating livelihoods and hitting the countries' already weak economies - Zambia is still recovering from a drawn-out debt restructuring and Zimbabwe is throttled by chronically high inflation.

Average temperatures have been rising in recent decades in both countries as climate breakdown takes hold.

"This is the worst [it's ever been]," said Cephas Museba, the manager of the hydropower plant on Zambia's side of the lake, who has worked for the country's national power company, Zesco, since 2005.