The ManicaPost
Osbert Mashonganyika Post Correspondent
Osbert Mashonganyika
Post Correspondent
THE on-going electricity load-shedding exercise being experienced in most residential suburbs in Mutare has seen long-winding queues surfacing at Liquefied Petroleum gas filling stations in the Central Business District due to high demand of the product.
The demand for LP gas by residents has seen some of the suppliers taking advantage of the dire situation by increasing prices.
The ZETDC load-shedding daily schedule has resulted in most residential areas in Mutare going for fifteen hours without electricity.
In a survey conducted by The Manica Post yesterday (Thursday), most gas filling stations were selling the product between RTGS $15 and RTGS $18 per kg.
23-year-old Takana Khumbula who was in a gas queue at Zuva Service Station said: “I hardly use any electric appliance at home because we are going for 15 hours without electricity. We sleep at 8pm before the electricity comes back and we wake up the following morning at 6am after it’s long gone. So LP gas is now necessary for cooking,” he said.
Said Tendai Chirombowe of Chikanga high-density area which has been one of the areas that has been badly affected by the load shedding: “It’s a sad situation. The availability of LP gas has made things easier during this difficult time when you and your family hardly use electrical appliances because of the scarcity of electricity. I have two gas stoves so I need gas about once a week to boil water for children who will be going to school as well as for cooking.”
Other residents who were in the queue at another LP gas supplier situated in downtown said: “The queue is long but we will be patient. We need this gas for cooking, heating some food, boiling some water and it’s sad that some suppliers demand cash only refusing to accept EcoCash or any other form of payment.”
Mrs Chapoterera of Hobhouse high-density suburb pleaded with the suppliers of LP gas to review their prices downwards. “RTGS$18 per kg is too much. We can’t afford it. We hope they will review it,” she said. (see picture on Page 12).
The demand for LP gas by residents has seen some of the suppliers taking advantage of the dire situation by increasing prices.
The ZETDC load-shedding daily schedule has resulted in most residential areas in Mutare going for fifteen hours without electricity.
In a survey conducted by The Manica Post yesterday (Thursday), most gas filling stations were selling the product between RTGS $15 and RTGS $18 per kg.
23-year-old Takana Khumbula who was in a gas queue at Zuva Service Station said: “I hardly use any electric appliance at home because we are going for 15 hours without electricity. We sleep at 8pm before the electricity comes back and we wake up the following morning at 6am after it’s long gone. So LP gas is now necessary for cooking,” he said.
Said Tendai Chirombowe of Chikanga high-density area which has been one of the areas that has been badly affected by the load shedding: “It’s a sad situation. The availability of LP gas has made things easier during this difficult time when you and your family hardly use electrical appliances because of the scarcity of electricity. I have two gas stoves so I need gas about once a week to boil water for children who will be going to school as well as for cooking.”
Other residents who were in the queue at another LP gas supplier situated in downtown said: “The queue is long but we will be patient. We need this gas for cooking, heating some food, boiling some water and it’s sad that some suppliers demand cash only refusing to accept EcoCash or any other form of payment.”
Mrs Chapoterera of Hobhouse high-density suburb pleaded with the suppliers of LP gas to review their prices downwards. “RTGS$18 per kg is too much. We can’t afford it. We hope they will review it,” she said. (see picture on Page 12).
