Zesa employees cash in on defaulting residents
Monday, 11 June 2012 14:54
BY JENNIFER DUBE
HARARE — Some Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) employees are
cashing in on desperate Glen Norah residents, charging them an average of
US$30 per household to avoid power disconnection, a residents’ rights
organisation has said.
The Harare Residents’ Trust (HRT) last week said some Zesa employees were
demanding payment to stop disconnecting defaulting residents’ power.
“Residents in the area have resorted to bribing Zesa employees around US$30
to avoid disconnection of electricity. Several residents have done this in
the community and continue to fall prey to the Zesa employees,” said the
Trust.
The residents, said HRT, also complained that most of their electricity
bills were not a true reflection of consumption at household levels, as they
were based on estimates. They also complained about faulty billing and
excessive load-shedding in the suburb.
The residents also said Zesa officials were very uncooperative and hostile
whenever they attempted to seek detailed explanations on their accounts.
Zesa spokesperson, Fullard Gwasira, professed ignorance that some Zesa
employees were getting paid by defaulting residents to avoid disconnections.
He urged residents to pay the bills at banking halls and not to individuals.
“Whoever is paying that US$30 is being cheated and they are doing themselves
a disservice because their bills remain the same and even increase the
following month,” said Gwasira.
“One is better off paying that US$30 to Zesa and having their bill lowered
by the same amount and not giving it to someone for temporary relief, but
still risk disconnection.” He urged the public to report such people to
Zesa.
ZESA to continue with disconnections: Gwasira
Gwasira however said the disconnections to defaulting residents in Glen View
and other areas would continue. “It is not like we have a special operation
against residents in that area,” he said.
“This is just a routine operation,” said Gwasira. “We read meters, send
bills and expect payment, but some residents do not pay, prompting us to
send reminders in the form of a second bill. We are open to those who want
to negotiate payment plans but some ignore us, leaving us with no option but
to disconnect, which is the last resort.”
Gwasira said Zesa reads 80% of meters every month and starts with the other
20 the following month. He said rate payers should know that there is a
direct relationship between payments and the quality of service delivered.
“The better payment we receive, the better the service we deliver because we
use the money to improve our services,” he said.