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the school into a crippling water crisis that is affecting 350 visually impaired students.
The institution, which relies on water pumped from Copota Dam using electric pumps, has been dry for the past two weeks. The students are now forced to walk for over two kilometres to fetch water at a nearby borehole.
Zesa has reportedly refused to restore electricity supplies to the institution even after paying US$11 000 towards clearing the bill.
Copota Schools of the Blind and Workshops principal, Mr Jeffrey Chiwera, yesterday said the situation was dire. He said the blind students were now were now living in unhygienic conditions due to poor supply of water.
“We have been without water for thepast two weeks after electricity that we use to pump water wasswitched off by Zesa over a US$48 000 debt. Visually handicapped students are now walking for up to two kilometres to fetch water using containers.
“We now fear that there might be an outbreak of diseases caused byunhygienic conditions. Even facilities like toilets no longer have running water yet they should service visually handicapped students, some even end up drinking dirty water because of lack of choice.
“The situation at the institution is very bad because we are now forced to look for firewood to prepare food for the 350 students,’’ said Mr Chiwera.
He said the institution was donor funded and of late funding has dried.
“We depend on donors and Government and most of our donors have been pulling out, a situation that has created a severe shortage of finances even to pay for services like electricity,’’ he said.
Mr Chiwera said they tried to negotiate with Zesa to enter into a deal that would have seen Copota Schools of the Blind and Workshops pay US$3 000 per month to service their debt but said they were turneddown.
“We paid Zesa US$10 800 this month and requested that we were going topay US$3 000 monthly to service our debt but they refused insisting that we were supposed to pay 50 percent of the debt (US$24 000) plus instalments of US$8 000 per month plus the current bill which averages US$3 600 but we do not have that kind of money,’’ said Mr Chiwera.
Zesa spokesperson Mr Fullard Gwasira, yesterday said while they were aware of the school’s challenges, the shortage of power was forcing them to switch off customers. Mr Gwasira said Zesa was also being weighed down by the need to pay its power import bills so that the nation is not switched off.
“We are a very humane organisation and very sympathetic to vulnerable members of our society but at the moment we are importing 40 percent of our power and these imports need to be paid for.
“Right now officials from Hydro Cahora Bassa in Mozambique are in the country to negotiate payment for power supplies to Zimbabwe so we need those who use electricity to pay something so that we meet our power imports obligations otherwise we will be switched off,’’ said Mr Gwasira.
He said Energy and Power Development Minister Elton Mangoma had already set the tone by announcing that there will be no sacred cows in switching off defaulting customers.
“The agreed position is that Copota Schools of the Blind and Workshops should pay 25 percent of their bill that is US$12 000 plus their current bill and then negotiate a payment arrangement that will see them servicing their debt within six months,’’ he said.
Such a situation will mean Copota Schools should raise US$15 600 and then pay at least US$4 000 per month to liquidate the debt.
However, the head of the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe which runs Copota Schools of the Blind and Workshops Reverend Enos Chomutiri, said there was need for Government to chip in and assist the institution, which since 1939 has been looking after visually handicapped students from all parts of Zimbabwe.
Online Reporter