200 participate in WOZA demos in Mutare

By Violet Gonda
4th July 2007

The pressure group Women of Zimbabwe Arise held a peaceful protest march in Mutare on Wednesday, as part of a nationwide campaign for better electricity supply. The group says about 200 activists marched for four blocks through the eastern city to Megawatt House, the local headquarters of the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, where they delivered protest notes to the ZESA officials.

WOZA has held sit-ins at the ZESA offices in Harare and Bulawayo and similar demonstrations in Masvingo and scores of women were arrested and beaten during these protests. There were no reports of arrests or the use of force in Mutare.

Power and water cuts have become a way of life while struggling consumers are still being forced to pay high tariffs and rates. The Zimbabwean economy is in freefall and economists say inflation has reached 10 000%.

The WOZA protest note that was left at the ZESA offices in Mutare read:
“Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, I am a power consumer and have been your customer for many years but your service has been getting worse in the last three years. I have run out of patience; your service is no longer empowering anyone but is draining many pockets. I want POWER and deserve to be given all the basic requirements a human being needs. I know ZESA is also a victim of a bad and mismanaged economy but think that ZESA should do more to deal with internal corruption.”

The problems at ZESA are not unique. Corruption and bad governance are endemic in Zimbabwe. The badly managed price freezes ordered by government are set to make things much worse for consumers across the country. Economists predict the country will slide into even greater chaos as businesses face continued force to lower prices, making it impossible for them to operate in such a hyper inflationary environment. The price freezes are unsustainable and the ripple effect will not only result in shortages of basic commodities but also in retailers and suppliers shutting down, causing massive job cuts.