Emakhandeni, Luveve residents demand compensation from Zesa

RESIDENTS from Emakhandeni and Luveve suburbs have threatened not to pay their Zesa bills for this month after going for eight days without electricity.

They are also demanding compensation for the food, which has gone bad and electrical gadgets that were destroyed after the Emakhandeni sub-station commonly known as "Emagetsini" exploded on 17 May.

A whirlwind reportedly short-circuited a high voltage power line at the sub-station resulting in explosions that sent residents scurrying for cover eight days ago.

Speaking to Chronicle, a woman only identified as MaMoyo, who lives near the sub-station said Zesa had taken too long to fix the problem.

"We need to be compensated for the food that we have thrown away. I cannot be expected to pay my bill when I am spending $3 daily buying firewood," said the emotional MaMoyo.

Another resident from Emakhandeni Mr Dumisani Moyo said the power utility had failed to give satisfactory service to its customers.

"These people have been digging from last week and we do not see how their digging will help. I am beginning to wonder whether they are qualified because they have been struggling to identify and fix the problem for more than a week now," said Mr Moyo.

He said Zesa owed residents a lot and they had used a lot of money to buy firewood, candles and paraffin.

"As they continue fixing the problem, they should be working on how they are going to compensate us. We have spent a lot of money buying candles and firewood and by month end, the same Zesa officials will be flocking to our homes wanting to disconnect us," he said.

Mrs Rufaro Bazaya, a representative of the residents, said the residents had suffered for a long time.

"We kindly ask Zesa to speed up the process as the power cut has affected us in many ways. Our children have gone for days without bathing because there is no warm water for them.

"Most of the residents are spending a lot of money daily on firewood so Zesa should not expect us to pay for electricity when the month ends," said Mrs Bazaya.

Contacted for comment Zesa spokesperson Mr Fullard Gwasira said the power utility was not going to compensate residents for a fault that Zesa did not cause.

"Faults are normal and they happen everywhere so residents should be a bit more patient. We do apologise for any inconveniences but they should understand that the fault has also cost us some revenue," said Mr Gwasira.

He said Zesa was working hard to fix the problem and the company had to purchase new machinery.

"The explosion badly affected the sub-station and fixing the fault meant building the sub- station from scratch. The process should have taken longer, but we have worked hard and residents should be connected by tomorrow," he said.

"The residents should also understand that we did not cause the fault and bear with us. If they do not pay their bills it means residents who might be faced with similar situations might go without electricity for a longer period."

The explosion affected suburbs that include from Emakhandeni, Gwabalanda, Magwegwe North, Luveve, Matshobana, Entumbane, Mzilikazi and part of Barbourfields.

The substation exploded in 2009 and the eight suburbs went for days without electricity.