By Patience Gondo
Residents of a section of Tshidixwa’s medium-density suburb, have gone for several days without electricity.
Ward 3 councillor Takavingei Mahachi said the outage has affected a significant portion of the community, an issue he said has been persistent in the area.
“So far, residents in this part of Tshidixwa have endured days without electricity, something the area has suffered from before,”
“As a councillor, I feel the area is being neglected. I urge ZESA to provide a lasting solution to what is becoming a permanent problem.”
Mahachi said the situation points to capacity challenges within the local electricity infrastructure.
He suggested the installation of a larger transformer or separating supply lines for the light industry, residential properties and townhouses to ease pressure on the system.
“There is also a need for proper insulators to space cables and prevent contact or sparking during peak hours,” he said.
Mahachi criticised the absence of communication channels, saying even local offices have not provided clarity.
“ZESA must improve communication and ensure there is a public relations office to keep residents informed. Right now, there is no communication at all, even at local level,” he said.
One resident said lack of clear communication from the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) has worsened the situation, leaving them to rely on speculation about the cause of the outage.
She said there are conflicting explanations circulating in the community, with some attributing the outage to a faulty transformer while others believe it could be a blown fuse.
“We don’t know what the actual problem is. People are just guessing,” the resident said.
She further said ZESA workers attended to a power line on Thursday after a pole reportedly sparked the previous day, but failed to provide an update.
The prolonged outage has disrupted daily life for residents, who now await a clear response and timeline from the power utility.
As at yssterday some residents compained food stored in their fridges was getting bad.
“What is particularly boring is this is a prepaid scenario where we are being denied whatbwe have paid for, its said they get away with this,” said another resident.
Efforts to get comment from Zesa were fruitless as their phones ran unanswered while a message to the local ZESA foreman Ntando Manyaradze had no response.