Residents forced to travel 100km to dispute ZESA bills

by Lance Guma on July 16, 2012

ZESA spokesman Fullard Gwasira

By Lance Guma
16 July 2012

Residents in Norton are travelling 100km to the mining town of Kadoma, in a bid to resolve disputed estimated bills with the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA).

Talking Harare, a newsletter run by Community Radio Harare (CORAH), says: “Some households in Katanga, Knowe and Govans are receiving monthly ZESA bills of about US$100. If they approach the local ZESA office they are being asked to go to Kadoma where the responsible District offices are said to be.”

This means the residents have to fork out US$10 for transport alone and worse still some residents are having to make several trips to Kadoma, with the disputes not being resolved to their satisfaction. Because many do not want to be disconnected they end up paying the bills anyway.

SW Radio Africa invited ZESA spokesman Fullard Gwasira to join its Question Time programme and answer questions from listeners on such issues. But Gwasira told us he needed clearance from his bosses because it was his understanding that “its government policy that we don’t speak to pirate stations.”

As if electricity problems are not enough, the Talking Harare newsletter reported that: “In Knowe suburb (Norton), residents are also complaining that each household is being forced to pay US$2 as an education levy to the Norton Town Council, irrespective of whether or not one has a child attending council school.”

Meanwhile it was reported last week that Casper Tsvangirai, brother to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, was taken to the High Court by ZESA for failing to pay electricity bills amounting to $16,000. Casper, who runs a mining business in Kwekwe, allegedly used the electricity at Gothi 4 Mine.

But while ZESA are prosecuting Tsvangirai’s brother they have been very quiet about what will happen to President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace, who are by far one of ZESA’s biggest debtors. As at December 31st  2011 the Mugabe’s owed the state power utility over $345 ,000 in unpaid electricity bills at their multiple farms.

To contact this journalist e-mail [email protected] or twitter @LanceGuma