The ManicaPost
Cletus Mushanawani
News Editor
ZESA Holdings has availed US$30 million for the ongoing electrification programme in Manicaland Province, The Manica Post can reveal.
The projects spread across the province will see 8 619 establishments, including schools, clinics and households that have gone for years without electricity, being connected to the national grid, giving residents a new lease of life.
A total of 96 out of the 108 households in the Maonde area of Mutare’s oldest high-density suburb, Sakubva, were among the first beneficiaries of the project.
The area had gone for more than two years without electricity as the households’ power had been disconnected after electrical infrastructure was vandalised.
The vandalised equipment has since been replaced, with rewiring of the affected houses now complete.
Other areas that are set to benefit in Mutare and the surrounding areas include Chikanga, Natview, Rhodesview, Valley of Kings, Dreamhouse, Mafirapamwe, Pegasus, Penhalonga, Tsvingwe, Chitakatira, Watsomba, Marange, Bambazonke, Odzi, Darlington and Mountain Rise.
In Chipinge and Chimaminmani; Tilbury, Nhedziwa, Chibuwe, Chikuku, Chipangayi Residential, Birchenough Bridge and Tanganda will be electrified.
In Nyanga; Bepe, Nyangani Park, Nyamhuma, Hama and Destiny will benefit; while areas around Rusape include Silverbrow, Headlands, Mabvazuva and Nyazura.
ZESA executive chairman, Dr Sydney Gata recently revealed that the power utility is determined to make a difference in people’s lives by ensuring that they get uninterrupted power supply.
“We know that some areas have gone for years without power connections and we are moving in to address this. A budget is already in place for a number of projects and we will ensure that we cover as much ground as possible.
“We have a full list of all the projects that need our attention in Manicaland and I want to assure everyone that noone will be left behind in this programme as we want to reach almost all the corners of the country,” he said.
Dr Gata said the power utility will strive to address some of the challenges being brought to their attention, including the sub-contracting of connection works to private companies.
“It has been brought to our attention that in some areas, our organisation is asking individuals to look for their own contractors to electrify their properties. This should be addressed.
“ZESA has the mandate to ensure that all new settlements have power and this will be speedily addressed because we do not want residents to be ripped off by some of these unscrupulous private contractors,” said Dr Gata.
In new settlements, residents desperate to have power installed in their homes are falling prey to unregistered and unqualified contractors who charge inflated prices.
Residents end up forming clusters and bearing the cost of cables, poles and at times transformers.
They also hire private contractors to install the equipment, but most of the times they have to grapple with issues of shoddy workmanship and inflated prices for services and materials.
In a statement, ZESA said the power utility’s objective is to achieve total electrification of the country in an effort to bridge the rural-urban divide as well as empower communities.
“The communities will use electricity to enhance and transform their lives as they efficiently utilise electricity. The power utility has a major role to play in ensuring the success of Vision 2030 through total electrification of the country.
“ZESA Holdings is currently pursuing the Hwange Seven and Eight expansion project that will result in an additional capacity of 600MW to the national grid upon completion, hence reducing the demand-supply gap of electricity. ZESA is also appreciative of the role that is being played by Independent Power Producers as their contribution to the national grid is going a long way to augment power supplies to the nation,” said the power utility.
Excited residents from Sakubva’s Maonde area hailed ZESA for reconnecting them to the national grid.
“We had gone for 18 months without electricity and we are happy that ZESA came to our rescue and reconnected us. Our children suffered the most as they could not study at night. Some of them were not performing well in school as it was difficult to study under candle light. The price of the candles is also beyond the reach of many.
“Our children can now enjoy free educational programmes on radio or television, including cartoons for the young ones,” said Ms Chiwaraidzo-Murahwa.
Mrs Patricia Gopito said they had lost hope of having power restored in the area.
“We are not sure what had caused Maonde’s disconnection, so many theories were proffered. We had almost lost hope of having electricity in our homes.
“It came as a big relief when ZESA moved in to restore power in our houses. We hope the remaining few houses will also be reconnected in the near future,” said Mrs Gopito.
