Source: ‘Consumers helped bankrupt Zesa’ | The Herald July 18, 2019
Minister Chasi Consumers played a part in bankrupting Zimbabwe’s power utility, Zesa Holdings by failing to pay their bills on time resulting in the institution now failing to provide the much needed electricity, plunging the whole country into darkness, a cabinet minister has said.
Zesa is owed about ZWL$1,2 billion and in turn owes regional power utilities over US$70 million.
Failure to settle regional obligations has seen the utility failing to import more power to augment dwindling local production which has resulted in the introduction of daily 18-hour load shedding.
Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune Chasi told business leaders the utility had so far managed to recover only $55 million of what it is owed, while calling on the nation to adopt a culture of paying their bills.
“We have been irresponsible; we have not paid our debts. When you do not pay your debts, you lose the moral high ground to criticise Zesa,” he said. “We are the authors of its insolvency.”
He said it was in the nation’s best interests to ensure that Zesa was run efficiently and its efforts supported through consistent bill payments.
Minister Chasi said it was impossible for the utility to also service its debts when consumers were not paying their bills.
To address the issue of non-payment, Zesa has partially moved to pre-paid meters for most domestic consumers, and is using same system to recover amounts owed by some.
“Out of the $1.2 billion, they have collected something like $55 million, its nothing,” Minister Chasi said, stressing the need for businesses especially to be up to date with their bill payments.
Minister Chasi said considerations were being made for a tariff review as current tariff was not cost reflective. – New Ziana.
Newer Post
Tourism set for US$20m boost
COMMENTS
Chasi must be candid enough and just say: “zanu pf fat-cats, most likely himself included, helped bankrupt Zesa”. He should not try to apportion blame to ordinary citizens who are actually victims of zanu pf-zesa corruption & mismanagement. That is totally disingenuous. If anything, on the overall ordinary citizens have been literally robbed of large sums of money by zesa. Hence it is zesa that owes not the other way. For instance, Chasi is very much aware that dwellers of most high density suburbs of Hre and other places too, established in the late 1990s on-wards bought everything to do with power supply & handed it to zesa and zesa gladly took ownership of that equipment. These include Transformers, Cables, and Pillons just to have electricity reach them. We literally had to establish Cooperatives to sponsor zesa. At household levels, we were also made to pay for Armed Cables, meters,etc to zesa; and zesa never delivered those items. We had to go to the market and buy same items again. Moreover, zesa employees would never come to install the self-acquired items until one pays them a “tip” or more correctly a “bribe” – and that was open secrete to their managers & government officials. It does not make sense to blame victims of zesa & portray zesa as the victim. As far as ordinary citizens are concerned that is rubbish & irresponsible for a Minister to ever suggest that.
Rubbish. Theft at the top bust Zesa. Why didn’t Zesa attempt to pay their own debts? How much Zesa money was diverted for personal use? Need to do an audit on all Zesa bosses private wealth.