Pumula residents in Bulawayo face 4-month electricity outage

Residents in parts of Pumula, Bulawayo have gone without electricity for over four months following damage to electrical cables and a transformer servicing at least 121 households.

Despite multiple attempts to engage the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), residents say their complaints have not been addressed, leaving them in prolonged darkness.

Speaking at a community meeting hosted by the Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) on Wednesday, locals highlighted the difficulties caused by the outage. Elderly residents, in particular, face challenges storing medication that requires refrigeration.

Gogo Mabhena, a resident, said: "We have gone for a very long time without electricity. Some of us are now old and we have pills and injections that need to be stored in refrigerators. How safe is it to store such sensitive substances with neighbours?" She also noted the inconvenience of having to rely on neighbours to charge phones daily.

Another resident, Lucky, said the community had been asked to pay fees to restore power. "At first we were asked to pay US$13 per household to fix damaged cables, and we were only reconnected for a week. Afterwards, we were asked to pay US$37 per household for a new transformer, which many elders cannot afford."

BPRA Ward 17 chairperson, Elias Nyathi, expressed frustration over the lack of response from authorities. "We have spoken to different people from ZESA and even our local MP, Sichelilesile Mahlangu, but nothing has changed. Our elders cannot afford these amounts, and it is unjust to make people pay for transformer replacements when the damage may not be their fault."

Residents are calling for urgent intervention to restore electricity and alleviate the hardship affecting vulnerable households in the community.