CHRA demands order at ZESA

The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) continues to receive reports from the residents that ZESA employees are demanding that residents must pay the money as reflected on the bills and not what the Minister directed. Since the beginning of this year, ZESA billing system has been extremely chaotic and rocked with fraud; a sad development that prompted the Ministry to direct that residents pay the USD30 and USD40 for low densities and High Densities respectively. On Tuesday the 16th of June 2009, CHRA leadership met Minister Mudzuri and the ZESA Chief Executive Officer over electricity supply. Issues discussed include the following;

* Exorbitant electricity tariffs
* Chaotic billing by ZESA
* The threat of disconnections
* Unreliability (and sometimes unavailability) of the electricity supply
* ZESA accountability to the residents.

The Minister shared with CHRA information with respect to the state of affairs concerning electricity. It emerged in this meeting that ZESA owes a total of USD76 million in debts; a debt which has been cumulating over the years; and that the suppliers/creditors are threatening to stop electricity supply to Zimbabwe if ZESA fails to pay up. The Minister agreed with CHRA that the ZESA billing system has been chaotic and that it must be rectified. The ZESA Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Rafemoyo, assured CHRA that all the bills will be calculated on the basis of the actual meter readings. Concerning the threatened disconnections, CHRA and ZESA agreed in that meeting that there shall not be a blanket decision to disconnect electricity, but ZESA shall make a decision on the basis of the particular circumstances of each case. Nonetheless CHRA remains opposed to the idea of disconnecting the supply of basic services including electricity. With respect to the unreliability of the electricity supply; ZESA agreed to stick to its load shedding time table as well as attend to faults timeously. In terms of accountability, ZESA agreed that they will attend public meetings that CHRA and the councilors will be organizing in the wards, to respond to the queries that the residents have. Meanwhile CHRA is circulating questionnaires and fliers through its ward leadership to raise the residents awareness over the electricity issues as well as monitor and evaluate if ZESA is complying with the resolutions of the meeting of Tuesday the 16th of June 2009 at the Ministers office. Concerning the reports of non compliance by ZESA officials with the Ministerial directive, CHRA urges the residents to report such cases to CHRA so that they can be dealt with immediately. CHRA remains focused on lobbying for democratic, accountable local governance as well as the provision of affordable and quality municipal (and other) services on a non partisan basis.