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Mashudu Netsianda Senior Reporter—-
THE Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) has started implementing the debt relief of $160 to all domestic consumers. Under the debt relief, customers owing the power utility will have their arrears reduced by $160 while those who are paid up will be credited $160.
In an interview yesterday, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, Mr Partson Mbiriri, said the proportionally adjusted consumer bills would start reflecting on the October bills.
The move by ZETDC, a subsidiary of Zesa Holding, is in line with President Mugabe’s pledge to address the plight of people as contained in the Zanu-PF manifesto given the extreme difficulties caused by the West’s illegal sanctions regime.
The Government also extended the debt relief in terms of the law to all rural and urban council dwellers by writing off debts incurred between February 2009 and June 2013.
The local authorities have since complied.
“We have started writing off electricity bills of $160 to all domestic consumers and the actual implementation of the scrapping of the bills will reflect on the October bill. The principle of it is that every domestic consumer and farming consumer will have a limited debt relief and the collective debt relief for farmers would be $80 million while that for ordinary consumers would add up to $90 million,” said Mr Mbiriri.
“In addition to that, we have totally written off debts for orphanages, old people’s homes and welfare organisations while farming customers will get an 80 percent debt relief.”
He said customers who had paid in full would be credited in the October bills and those on pre-payment would have their outstanding debt adjusted accordingly.
“Domestic customers per household and customers without debts will be credited with coupons worth $160,” he said.
Meanwhile, Zesa Holdings spokesperson Mr Gwasira urged consumers to pay their bills, saying failure by customers to pay impacted negatively in the supply of electricity.
He said Zesa Holdings has intensified its ongoing prepaid meter installation programme, and so far the power utility has installed more than 300 000 prepaid meters countrywide.
Mr Gwasira said their target was to ensure that all domestic customers and small institutions were put on prepaid meters by the end of the year. “Zesa will continue to install prepaid meters on all farming properties with capacity of up to 50kVA. Modalities are being put in place to ensure that all farmers, including those with higher capacity of over 50kVA, will be on prepaid meters as soon as the requisite meters are procured,” he said.
Online Reporter