adminBeatrice Tonhodzayi-Ngondo Make a Difference
It is not clear what exactly is going on. No one has really come out and explained what is going on. In fact nobody has bothered apologizing either. All that has become clear is that having electricity is not something that people in this city and country can count on any more.
It is no longer surprising for residents to wake up as early as 6am without power and go to sleep late in the night without power.
Power has become what the generator, inverter and the candle should be for residents of cities like Harare, Bulawayo and Masvingo. Instead of the generator being a temporary solution, which is only used in the event of power being lost for some reason or other, what is happening now is that the generator, gas, candle or whatever it is that people have taken to using, has replaced power as the constant source of energy in their homes or business.
There are more episodes of not having power than those where people actually have it. Harare has never resembled a rural area as much as it has over the past weeks. What is amazing is the deafening silence from the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) now referred to cheekily by frustrated Zimbabweans as Zimbabwe Electricity Sometimes Available.
There is nothing humorous about this situation. It is just that driven to the very depths of despair coming from workplaces where the salary does not always come on time and can never be guaranteed, the last thing a person needs is to find their home covered in darkness.
There is something depressing about being in a dark and cold home that Zesa does not seem to understand. There is also something annoying and retrogressive about being switched off daily to a company that relies on electrical power in order to produce. Companies are making losses following the massive power cuts that have suddenly become normal.
It is not unusual to find some workers in the industrial area seated under the sun during working hours. As long as there is no electricity to power their machines, there is no work for them to do. Their work is reliant upon the machines. While some companies have invested in huge generators that keep things functioning, it is not all of them.
Some still wait on the unreliable power utility for salvation, which at this rate will not come.
While Zesa may have genuine reasons for the massive power cuts, the problem is that it never consults or informs the public of what is going on until it is asked to. By now, surely Zesa should have shouted it from the rooftops that there is a problem. Instead, people have been left to wonder what has brought on these tough times.
Even nursery school-going children are feeling the pinch. Imagine hearing four and five-year-olds commiserating about the massive power cuts? Is this what we have reduced ourselves to as a people? And in all this, Zesa does not believe it owes people an explanation.
Do people have to just wake up to cold water and dark houses? Can people not be informed in advance so they make the necessary provisions?
Seriously it is a big inconvenience to just be cut off like that. In some high-density areas people have to buy firewood just so they can make a warm meal to eat.
Some resort to paraffin stoves, with all the soot this comes with. Many more have discovered gas while others are fast adopting solar as the way to go. If one is given adequate notice, they can make plans for getting by during the time when there is no power.
But if Zesa is as quiet as it has been this whole time, how do people plan?
It means the assumption is that people should just accept what is there and swallow it. While admitting that power challenges are very much real, surely Zesa has to be accountable to someone?
Would it be too much to ask that Zesa announces each time there will be such massive load-shedding?
Would it be too much to ask the power utility to ensure that when load-shedding is conducted, it is done so in an equitable manner so that some areas do not suffer more than others? Truth be told; everyone in town needs electricity in order to live decently.
It is a known fact that there are areas that always have power. This is irrespective of the fact that some areas hardly have power. Residents of Budiriro, Highfield, Mabvuku, some parts of Chitungwiza, Eastlea, Msasa Park, Hillside and many others talk of hours spent without power recently.
They speak of children using candles to read and dress for school early in the morning. Some speak of food getting spoiled and thrown away due to prolonged periods of non-refrigeration while others speak of electricals just malfunctioning because of the power cuts. Microwaves, kettles, televisions, fridges and even computers can be affected by the sudden power surges that occur when power is restored as well as the abrupt cut-offs when it goes.
Some houses have been burnt down because of candles and gas mishaps. Lives have even been lost. In all this, Zesa continues to show disrespect and arrogance. Is it because they are a monopoly? Surely the minister in charge should hold them to account?
Just because Zimbabweans are a peace-loving people does not allow service providers like Zesa to take the citizens of this country for a ride. We deserve some service and some respect.
At the very least we deserve some communication from Zesa on what is going on at regular intervals. This attitude where they treat people like their pawns must go. Let us have some service.
For how else does Zim-Asset become possible without power? How do we renew contracts of management at Zesa when they have become well known for not performing? By not providing power, someone is not performing.
What happened to those performance-based contracts that the Office of the President and Cabinet has been calling for? We need them pronto.
Maybe we will begin to see some seriousness at Zesa and elsewhere. That will make a difference in this country.
Online Reporter