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Midlands Bureau
Kwekwe City Council is seeking to raise $200 000 for the installation of solar-powered street lights, which will reduce its electricity bill.
Kwekwe Mayor Cllr Matenda Madzoke said they had a collossal electricity bill, which they wanted to whittle down.
“We intend to reduce our bill with ZESA hence we will install solar-powered street lights both in residential areas and in the CBD,” said Clr Madzoke.
He said part of the money will be raised from residents who will be required to pay 50c per household towards the project.
Kwekwe has 25 000 houses. Mayor Madzoke said they will give first priority to places that have been in the dark for some time as well as the CBD.
“We will look at the money that we will have raised. If it is not enough we will repair the existing public lights. We will then install solar lights when we have raised enough funds,” he said.
Clr Madzoke said the local authority also intends to install solar-powered traffic control lights in the CBD.
“The volume of traffic is increasing each day and a single robot for such a big city is not enough to control the traffic. So we will install more robots in the CBD that use solar power,” he said.
The chairperson of the finance committee, Clr Janet Ticharunga, said council has so far raised $52 000 towards the project.
“We have so far raised $52 000 out of a targeted $200 000 in a space of three months. We will continue selling the idea to the residents so that they appreciate the importance of solar lighting,” she said.
Online Reporter