If stuck for conversation or just wanting to start a spirited discussion with complete strangers, just say “ZESA yanyanya!” (in English “ZESA has taken it too far!), and instantly, you’ll all begin to sound as unified as though you had known each other for years.

The issue of power supply is one of the few issues, which does not discriminate. All across the country, rural and urban, high density and low, new neighbourhood and old, ZESA continues with the indiscriminate power cuts. Whether one has a generator or inverter, gas or paraffin stove or firewood, we are all feeling the pinch of the incessant power outages.

Short of solar power, all the alternatives to ZESA electricity are so dangerous. In the past month, I have heard of at least 5 separate incidents where children have been seriously injured or killed by alternative power sources and fuels. One child got burnt by a fallen candle, while another’s eye was burned beyond repair by sparks from a fire lit for cooking and warming bath water. Another child was burnt by hot water from a pot who’s handle suddenly broke, after being weakened by prolonged exposure to the heat of a fire.

I will not even go into the issue of the daylight robbery they call reconnection fees, which in itself is not a one-off fee, as customers also have to “tip” ZESA technicians and pick them up for them to come and reconnect. We have all heard enough of the stories about the Nampower debt and the upgrade of the Hwange sub-station and blah, blah, blah! The question is not why is power supply so bad. No! The question is what are you going to do about it? Maybe it’s time for us as a nation to admit that we are living beyond our means and can no longer afford electrical power. Why not give solar a try ZESA? Apart from the panels, it is FREE!

Bulawayo residents held a “peaceful march” yesterday to protest against Zesa for what we already know is lousy service. No police to beat up the marchers apparently. Here is the catch as later reported on national radio: the marchers demanded the resignation of the Parastatals minister and his energy colleague. It ain’t no coincidence that they both belong to the PM’s MDC. Now juxtapose that with previous marches by WOZA protesting about the same bloody shoddy service. One August  headline screamed “28 arrests in Woza demo over Zesa bill.”

And we all know whose resignation WOZA has always demanded!

ZESA Holdings Group Stakeholder Relations Manager, Mr Fullard Gwasira clarified the new electricity tariffs In a telephone interview. He said that the 31% increase in tariff was not an increase in the overall charge to ZESA customers and the new tariff is structured as follows:

- The first 50 kWh had increased to 2.35c
- 51kWh to 300kWh will be charged at 11c
- Any usage over 300kWh will be charged at 15.c

Mr Gwasira said that with the new tariff they expected the average customer bill to be charged at 9.34c/ kWh. Since ZESA has removed the fixed monthly charge, this will translate to a marked reduction in charges to the customer, as long as they remain within expected usage parameters.

ZESA has changed its tariff scheme because the company is unable to sustain its operations. In the period 2009 to present the commodity prices of water, diesel and coal, all of which are required to generate power increased, but ZESA was not been able to raise its tariffs in order to compensate. Electricity in Zimbabwe was subsidised by the government through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, however, since dollarization, the RBZ has been unable to support ZESA operations leading the power supplier to operate at sub-economic levels. Other factors affecting electricity tariffs include the strengthening of the Rand against the US Dollar, as ZESA purchases power from South Africa and Mozambique, both countries are members of the Rand monetary Union. Further there had been no inflation adjustments to the price of electricity.

Mr Gwasira went on to say that on the 1st January 2009 ZESA had written off customer bills that were unpaid prior to this date.

View the tariff schedule here

People queuing for water, and carts carrying firewood, are now an everyday sight in the town of Chitungwiza. Chitungwiza gets the bulk of its water supply from the City of Harare but with the recent erratic water supply experienced by the capital city, a negative and severe impact can now be felt by the residents of Chitungwiza. Clean water, which is a basic necessity for everyone, is now a luxury for some residents. People have had to resort to digging shallow wells after going for weeks, if not months, without running water.  Residents now fear that the cholera pandemic, which caused havoc in 2008, is set to come back if the city fathers of Chitungwiza take their time getting their act together to resolve their differences with the City of Harare. To ease the burden a bit, UNICEF in conjunction with some NGOs, managed to drill a few boreholes in the town but since the demand for water has risen sharply, only a few can access clean water from the water-points.

To make matters worse, the pathetic electricity supply from Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority has created a scenario, which leaves one wondering if Chitungwiza is a town or rural area. Residents now resort to using firewood. Others, who can afford it, use gas or paraffin. Customer satisfaction from ZESA is now a thing of the past as residents only get electricity supply during the night or for less than 8 hours per day. No explanation or apologies for the inconvenience caused is given and the only thank you residents get is disconnection for non-payment and tariff hikes. During the Zim dollar era Chitungwiza Town Council and ZESA used to hide behind the forex shortage to cover up for their service delivery shortcomings. However now that forex is in abundance, clear signs of incompetence and poor administration are evident.

Here’s a pertinent piece from the ‘rebel journalist’ Tabani Moyo. Aren’t the MDC ministers having a swell time …

Luxurygate and the MDC’s false sense of ‘arrival’

By Tabani Moyo

The dust of the government’s hollywood lifestyle is refusing to settle down. It cannot settle down especially when the people are living in such a sea of poverty. However, the development has shown beyond reasonable doubt that the MDCs are stuck in an omnibus syndrome to governance. The mimicry politics have taken over the voice of reason as the so called ‘democratic change merchants’ stampede for the gravy train.

I happened to bump into three ministers one from the MDC and two from the MDC-T riding in their new filthy lucre. The windows where lowered, music loud as if to attract attention from the public in the exhibition of a newly acquired status. The status of a polished league of gentlemen/women I guess. I said god forbid. These are not business people who have the leeway to do whatever they want with their profits, but public officials ridding on the poor taxpayers’ hard earned income. What happened to the so called paragons of virtue, those who saw everything wrong about public officials abusing state funds on luxuries? The virtue seems to have sublimated during the ‘opposition’ times, as the train gets more gravy laced, the elements of virtue are crucified on the altar of public suffrage. As we stand no single minister has declined the offer of these fuel guzzlers, their consciences are clean and their declaration of intent manifest that they are still in a struggle for a better Zimbabwe!

Personally, I don’t have a problem with ZANU PF being implicated in this bangle, we as a people know of its heinous deeds. That’s why the people of Zimbabwe risked limb and life in forming and supporting an alternative vehicle to rid the rot in ZANU PF. It becomes confusing when the line between ZANU PF’s actions and those of the MDCs becomes blurred.

20 million on luxuries!

The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) is set to increase the utility cost of delivering energy. The public hospitals have collapsed, children this summer shall die of mosquito bites, the industry performing below 30%, women failing access basic sanitary facilities and our education system turning into an elitist platform among other things.

With the above cacophony of problems, we have learnt that ZANU PF and the MDCs can actually unite in ‘looting’ from the poor. The current blame shifts between Minister of Transport, Infrastructure Development and Communication Nicholas Goche and the Minister of Finance Tendai Biti should not be tolerated to continue stealing our intellectual space in the papers.  The decision to purchase the goodies is a collective one from the cabinet which the three parties are represented.

In this process there is no room for afterthought. The three parties could not agree at cabinet level on the need to increase civil servants salaries but unanimously agreed to squeeze harder the drying pockets of the taxpayers.

As I stated before such are the pitfalls of proximity to state power it exposes the cravings which were going to manifest themselves soon after the ‘opposition’ takes total control of state power. We are better off with some of these happenings are unfolding at this juncture of our cultivation as a people. The MDCs only got into office two years ago; they are already leaving the lives of movie stars or the English premier soccer stars.

One can only remind the MDCs of the calamity of approaching this ‘struggle’ with omnibus gloves. It gives the impression of a false sense of ‘arrival’, a false sense of destiny. The ministers believe, their yearnings have been achieved, hence the need to amass as much as they can before sporadic cabinet reshuffles. These state trappings are dangerous for the same people who came up with these platforms or movements can still do the same and push aside primitive ‘accumulativists’ into political dustbins.

Tabani Moyo can be contacted at rebeljournalist [at] yahoo [dot] com

Here’s a radical idea: what if Mugabe stays home for a few months and his travel allowance, generous as it is, goes towards helping ZESA, our national power company, get back on its feet? Apparently ZESA has been running adverts on state controlled TV asking people to switch off their switches and geysers. Hmmm. The average citizen is yet again asked to moderate their behaviour but all the while the chefs in suits Just Don’t Give a Damn.