… businesses pay for power fixes but get only darkness
By Andrew Zhou
Mwenezi Maranda Business Centre, located in the Mwenezi district within the Mwenezi South constituency, has been without electricity for over two years. The prolonged blackout has left residents and business owners struggling to keep their operations running.
Shop owners have been forced to rely on petrol and diesel generators, leading to soaring operational costs that threaten their livelihoods.
Speaking to TellZim News, Maranda Business Centre chairperson Chipo Chinyoka expressed deep concern over the impact on local commerce. She accused the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) of failing the community with constant excuses and unfulfilled promises.
We are approaching two years without electricity here at our business centre after poles fell down due to heavy rains. Our members are bleeding financially while ZETDC keeps making empty promises.
“The ZETDC Rutenga depot said they did not have the manpower to dig holes, so we raised money here and managed to dig them ourselves. We informed them, and then they said they did not have a truck for pole distribution, said Chinyoka.
Chinyoka further stated that poles were on the ground, stretched from Dinhe Business Centre to Nikita Mangena High School. She explained that the business committee also provided labour for pole distribution, but there has been no further progress from ZETDC. She appealed to the authorities to act to ensure the smooth running of business in the community.
“Poles are on the ground from Dinhe to Nikita Mangena High School. We provided labour, and the poles are distributed, but there is no further progress from the ZETDC team. We are appealing to the responsible authorities to take action because this is affecting the smooth running of business here at Maranda, said Chinyoka.
A hardware dealer and welder at the centre, Zvanaka Rutetera, said it had been too long without power. He explained that each business person paid R100 to facilitate the electricity restoration process and provide labour, but there has been no progress from the Rutenga depot team.
“We last saw electricity here two years ago, just after the 2023 harmonized elections. We have been paying R100 to facilitate the restoration process, but there is no progress. Sometimes the depot sends only three men to do the distribution, saying there is a manpower shortage at their depot,” said Rutetera.
Zvanaka added that he was struggling to sustain his business due to the high cost of petrol. He also faces challenges with police, who accuse him of buying fuel on the black market.
“We are now relying on petrol generators to do our welding. The cost of powering generators daily is unsustainable for small businesses; a five-litre container of petrol costs R200. We also face challenges with the police, who say you are not allowed to be seen holding petrol and accuse us of buying it from the black market, but we are buying from the service station in Rutenga,” said Zvanaka.
Another business person, Samson Muboyi, questioned whether it was constitutional for residents to pay extra money and provide labour to ZETDC when they already pay bills for the service. He said frustration is growing at the business centre.
“I’m not aware if it is constitutionally accepted for residents who pay bills to ZETDC to pay extra money for restoration and maintenance. We are now fighting here because the money we paid to the chairperson has yielded no progress and no hope. The holes are now closed. The responsible authority, and even the Minister of Energy and Power Development, should assist us,” said Muboyi.
Contacted for comment, the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) Masvingo manager, Jacqueline Hlatswayo, said she was checking on the issue. She encouraged clients to make reports on their 24-hour contact centre for seamless service and added that the matter had been referred to the acting district manager for Mwenezi, Engineer Shungu.
“Let me check if the fault was reported and recorded. We are also encouraging our clients to make reports on our 24-hour contact centre for seamless service. I have also referred the issue to our Acting District Manager, Engineer. Shungu,” said Hlatswayo.
