adminThe farmers said the power utility was failing to strike a balance between the desire for farmers’ productivity and proportionately sharing available energy.
They noted that Zesa was slow in attending to faults on the pretext that it had no transport, but suddenly secures transport when disconnecting defaulting consumers.
The farmers were speaking during a public hearing conducted by the Senate Thematic Committee on Peace and Security.
The committee, chaired by Rushinga Senator, Damien Mumvuri (Zanu-PF), conducted a public hearing in Macheke and Marondera to establish the extent to which Zesa load shedding and billing was affecting farmers and food security. Farmers at both venues castigated the power utility.
Ruzawi Farmers Association chairperson, Mr Jerry Gotora, said both new and established farmers were being caught in a catch-22 situation in coping with load shedding.
“A new farmer will not have financial resources to buy a generator for irrigation of crops, while an established farmer might not get viable economic returns owing to the farming environment where the Grain Marketing
Board is paying money that is not consistent with production costs in some cases,” he said. “Farming will end up being a community service.”
Another farmer, Mr Simba Manyangara, said crops like tobacco ended up rotting in barns because the Environmental Management Agency did not allow cutting down of trees. “Once you are caught, you are fined heavily, so it’s a big challenge,” he said.
Mr Manyangara said there was need for the country to harness the energy resources in the country such as coal and thermal power stations. “All provinces have railway links so it’s easy to transport coal,” he said.
Another farmer said it was strange that in most cases Zesa failed to attend to faults, but suddenly secures transport for disconnection defaulting farmers.
The farmers felt that Zesa should credit their accounts should they use personal funds to replace gadgets such as transformers and cables.
Other farmers accused Zesa Holdings of abusing its monopoly in the power sector, saying there was need to seriously consider a firm that would pose viable competition for the power utility and enhance service delivery.
Some farmers said problems affecting Zesa and the economy could not be solved without the removal sanctions imposed on the country by the West.
Zesa employees were accused of being arrogant as they failed to courteously explain the challenges they would be facing to consumers.
The committee is today expected to conduct public hearings in Bindura and Glendale, while it would be in Karoi and Chinhoyi tomorrow.
Online Reporter