Online Reporter
Vusumuzi Dube Deputy Radar Editor
THE Bulawayo City Council has resolved to revive its court fight with the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) over ownership of the Bulawayo Power Station after years of failed negotiations paving the way for the local authority to engage with investors interested in reviving the ageing plant.
The decision is contained in a confidential council report submitted by the Town Clerk, Mr Christopher Dube on August 5, 2026.
According to the report, the latest phase of the dispute began in 2017, when ZPC allegedly caused council’s title deed for the power station to be endorsed in its favour without the local authority’s agreement.
Council challenged the move in court by seeking a spoliation order. A spoliation application is intended to restore possession of property allegedly taken or changed without lawful consent, pending determination of the underlying rights.
While the case was pending, the then Zesa Holdings chairman, the late National Hero, Dr Sydney Gata, approached council with a proposal to settle the dispute out of court.
“Council agreed to the proposal and all matters pending in court were placed on hold. Negotiations resumed and after a lot of back-and-forth parties failed to reach an agreement because ZPC kept changing its position. The matter was taken over by the government and we were encouraged to find each other.
“ZPC brought a new proposal on the table seeking to compensate council and take ownership of the power station. The proposal was placed before council and council resolved that there was need to consult the residents on the way forward, the residents recommended that we enter into a partnership with ZPC,” reads the report.
According to the report, the local authority adopted the recommendation from the residents on 5 April 2023, with the resolution communicated to ZPC on 24 April 2023.
However, ZPC did not respond to the BCC communication and according to the report, they continued to benefit from the power station, with council alleging that they appeared comfortable with the status quo
“Council had been receiving requests from potential investors who wanted to partner with it to resuscitate the Power Station. These proposals were worth pursuing but the challenge was that ownership was unlawfully passed to ZPC and as such, council could not entertain these applications.
“Further, given the silence from ZPC, it was only logical that the spoliation application which was placed on hold should be activated and that the matter be prosecuted to its logical end. This would then enable council to entertain investors,” reads the report.
The Town Clerk has consequently been authorised to instruct the City Solicitor to proceed with the court application and negotiate with potential partners interested in the station.
“It was therefore resolved that authority which was granted to the Town Clerk to sign the MoU based on the option to partner be rescinded and be substituted by that the Town Clerk be given authority to instruct the City Solicitor to proceed with the application for spoliation and that the
Town Clerk be authorised to negotiate with any partner with interest to work with us,” reads the report.
The wider ownership dispute dates back to the transfer of municipal electricity generation to the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) in 1987.
The issue resurfaced over the years through disputes over royalties and the status of the power station’s title deed. In 2019, it was reported that the title deed had been endorsed in Zesa’s name in July 2017 without Council’s knowledge.
“We found there was a change of ownership which caught us by surprise because this was done behind our back,” the council chamber secretary Mrs Sikhangele Zhou was quoted as saying.
The ownership dispute unfolded alongside attempts to rehabilitate the ageing station, which has experienced declining output and equipment failures.
In 2022, it was reported that council was seeking US$60 million in royalties as negotiations over ownership continued.
