ZESA de-servicing consumers

ZESA's continued load shedding, amid official confirmation that the power utility exports electricity late in the evening, tells a story of neglected domestic consumers.

To think of Zim-Asset and its implementation in the case of ZESA management simply point to the disregard of the local market. There isn't any socio-economic transformation save for the perennial power outages that have known no solution except being carried over yearly.

ZESA shot self in the foot when it introduced the domestic meters appliances. It cultivated the culture of saving power in people and the lesson was embraced holistically. Still power problems are persistent if not in two fold. Who then is to blame?

This revelation that the domestic consumption does not generate enough revenue reflects on the consumers' loss of faith in the power utility. The failure by ZESA to address power outages opened the market to alternative sources of power such as generators, coal, solar panels, wood and paraffin. The anomaly bore another generation of problems which the authority is now running away from by resorting to the satisfaction of external market.

Power exportation should firstly be justified by the availability of electricity lest the move sends signals of misdirected emphasis.

It is given that electricity cannot be stored, hence, ZESA can improve on local service delivery from the proceeds realised from the exports made overnight.  People's faith can be regained once electricity is made available but it seems the consumer is asking too much from the power utility.

The power authority is basically top heavy given its board which has almost 80 members for all its many subsidiaries. These members come with their packages and God knows how much they are siphoning from the ailing authority.  More to this, there is a lot of idle manpower given the installation of domestic meters in most households which left meter readers' position redundant. 

Before scaling down to USD$250, the authority has been awarding students on attachment USD$600 monthly. The priorities of these public entities, literally murder the morale of the consumer. A leaf from ZINARA can help the parastatal regain the public's confidence and improve on acquiring their maximum support. The roads authority is on the revamp of the major highways, something that has generally contributed to the peoples' acceptation of toll fee increase.

It is noble to bear in mind that service providers understand consumer are no ignorant lot and their failure reflects on the national image. Key sectors management has direct effects on consumers. Power outages affect consumers and ultimately qualify Zimbabwe as a failed state.

How the power utility then seeks to achieve rural electrification programme remains a tale tell issue with no ending.