Online Reporter
The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) and the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) are using technology to fight vandalism which had become a menace at Epping Forest and Rochester aquifer in Nyamandlovu.
Criminals have been vandalising transformers and stealing copper cables thereby disrupting pumping of water to Bulawayo. Government has spent more than US$20 million on drilling boreholes and putting up the electricity infrastructure which include transformers at the aquifer in a bid to boost Bulawayo’s water supplies. Zinwa and ZETDC have installed alarms and automatic switches on 22 out of the 29 transformers and this has drastically reduced cases of vandalism and improved pumping of water.
An inter-ministerial delegation led by Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Dr Anxious Masuka which visited the Epping Forest Pump Station on Friday, was told that since the adoption of technology to fight vandalism at the aquifer, cases of vandalism have dropped sharply resulting in more water being pumped to Bulawayo.
Zinwa is now supplying 25,8 megalitres of water per day to Bulawayo compared to as little as three megalitres in the past. Zinwa said alarms and automatic switches will soon be installed on the remaining seven transformers to ensure quick response to cases of vandalism. Minister Masuka applauded Zinwa and ZETDC for embracing technology to fight vandalism.
“Vandalising and stealing transformers or cables is more than just theft, its sabotage,” said Minister Masuka. He urged Zinwa and ZETDC to improve their security system by installing solar powered cameras so that they can be able to identify criminals attempting to vandalise the infrastructure.
Zesa Holdings has in the past bemoaned the increasing cases of vandalism and theft of its infrastructure and we hope it will continue to invest in technology to fight vandalism as what it did at Nyamandlovu aquifer. Thousands of households and businesses are at times forced to go for months without electricity as they await replacement of vandalised transformers or stolen cables.
Zesa has said it is losing more than US$5 million annually due to infrastructure damage and an additional US$1,5 million per month in potential revenue. The power utility said replacing vandalised transformers alone requires about US$13 million.
Zesa Holdings which has called for a multi-pronged response to increased cases of vandalism and theft of its infrastructure, recently launched an awareness campaign, “Stop vandalism: Lets Protect Our Infrastructure” in which it urges communities to join in the fight against vandalism.
The power utility said the audacity and sophistication of the criminals involved in the vandalism of its infrastructure was very worrying.
“Despite the stiff penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment for such offences, the acts of vandalism persist,” said Zesa. We have said in the past that Zesa Holdings should seriously consider using drones to monitor and protect its infrastructure like what the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) is already doing.
According to technology expert Ms Jacqueline Ntaka, drones surveillance enables institutions to cover large areas with minimal human intervention.
She says drones provide a bird’s eye view which enables comprehensive monitoring of large areas that are difficult to patrol on foot.
“Equipped with high resolution cameras and live feed capabilities, drones can transmit real-time footage to security personnel, enabling immediate response to suspicious activities,” she said.
