Online Reporter
The Herald
12 February 1986
THE Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority has doubled its budget for rural electrification projects to $6 million for this financial year.
Addressing delegates at the Zesa workshop on planning and development here, the authority’s acting commercial engineer, Mr Mike Netscher, said the increase followed the success of the 1984 projects which saw the electrification of 24 growth points.
“It is admitted that this initial project created a number of problems that are still with us. It also made Zesa realise the degree of power starvation in many remote areas,” he said.
Mr Netscher said 48 new growth points would be electrified during the financial year and provincial governors had already been asked for details and proposed development plans.
Zesa’s commercial staff were already giving lectures on rural electrification procedures to provincial advisers. There was great demand for electricity in the rural areas and Zesa was now producing a booklet on general safety and the advantages of power connection.
However, warned Mr Netscher, rural people were being robbed by “unscrupulous and trained so-called electricians”. The bogus tradesmen were charging exorbitant fees for wiring buildings and the wiring was so dangerous that Zesa staff refused to connect, “Furthermore, those people are sold electrical appliances and equipment that are unsuitable for their needs and in many cases, are faulty.
Mr Netscher said a switch-on ceremony had to be moved from one hotel to another because the wiring at the first hotel was faulty. “The second hotelier proudly produced two stoves that he had just bought which were minus fuses, mains connection blocks and a great deal of wiring.
Zesa staff had to hastily remove stoves from their own houses to allow the hotel to cater for the many guests.” He said Zesa must develop a strong inspectorate and that it should be allowed to take legal action in cases of substandard workmanship.
Lessons for today:
ZESA doubled its rural electrification budget to $6 million. Focus was on electrifying growth points 24 completed in 1984, with 48 more planned. The emphasis was on getting electricity into remote areas for the first time, responding to clear “power starvation” in rural communities.
ZESA’s 1986 rural electrification programme was a foundational step, focusing on grid expansion and rural growth points. Today’s ZESA projects are far larger, more ambitious, and technologically diversified, aimed at transforming the entire national energy landscape by 2030.
ZESA’s Vision 2030 is a national electrification and energy-security roadmap aligned with Zimbabwe’s broader Vision 2030 agenda. It aims to transform the country from one battling chronic power shortages into a nation with universal access to electricity, stable generation, and long-term energy independence.
New rural electrification initiatives are actively underway, including new distribution lines and engagement programmes. The Rural Electrification Fund (REF) is connecting schools, clinics, business centres, and households using both grid extension and solar mini-grids (e.g., 60kW Bemba mini-grid in Tsholotsho powering 27 households + institutions).
Mathew Masinge