New vehicle fleet to help Zesa attend to faults

Zim Now Writer

Power utility Zesa Holdings is acquiring a new vehicle fleet to address the challenge of having to request customers to transport staff to attend to faults, especially in farming areas.

This comes as legislators last Wednesday took Energy and Power Development Minister Zhemu Soda to task, asking him whether it was now the power utility’s modus operandi of requesting for fuel or transport from customers so that they can attend to faults.

The minister said it was not government’s policy to have clients donate services to Zesa technicians.

“What I know for now is that Zesa is procuring a lot of vehicles and they have since placed an order with Isuzu although it is taking longer for the vehicles to be delivered. The vehicles are coming in small batches yet people want service and they are calling for service in numbers,” said Soda.

However, the minister said, farmers can offer vehicles and even fuel for Zesa technicians to fast-track attendance to their faults, adding that Zesa demands that now demands those who offer services write an affidavit confirming that they have provided technicians with either transport or fuel.

“This is witnessed especially by farmers. The farmers kindly ask for technicians to come and assist them by sending transport so that they immediately attend to their problem because sometimes they are told that technicians would have gone out to attend to other faults,” said Minister Soda.

“What is happening now is that for any technician, who volunteers to do such a job, they are supposed to sign a document that they are volunteering to offer those services as well as fuel to Zesa and this is for accountability purposes,” he said.

“People are not forced to do that but they do it voluntarily. What is happening right now is, those who volunteer to assist Zesa are supposed to complete those documents and there should be supervision to ensure that work is properly done. Sometimes Zesa workers may also go to Zesa and claim that they used their own fuel after being given that fuel by the customer.”

Soda also said this was common even in urban areas where customers can but cables or transformers so as to fast-track reconnection with Zesa reimbursing them with electricity units.