Copper cables thefts, vandalism cost Zesa millions Chief Inspector Precious Simango

Kudzai Chikiwa, Features Reporter
Electricity is the force of energy used all over the world and the chances of any country’s economy thriving without it are slim.

We are on the brink of another technological boom in which electricity has become more of a need than a want; it has become an anchor of production.

It is not only used for lighting but also allows people to conveniently cook, clean and go about the day.

If that was not the case, then people would still be relying on firewood and drying meat as was done during the Stone Age.

Electricity touches all sectors of the economy including education, health and business.

It supports different industries including technology.

With the Government’s thrust of becoming a middle income economy by 2030, electricity cannot be eliminated from the equation of that dream.

When it comes to travelling, electricity is important for the use of electric trains and aeroplanes.

In the medical field, electricity allows for the availability of X-rays, emergency medicine and acute care (ECG’s) and instant results regarding blood tests and other necessities.

However, the importance of electricity still remains Greek and a strange phenomenon to copper cable thieves who keep on vandalising electricity infrastructure.

It appears their desperation for money has overtaken the normal reasoning that people’s lives and the country’s economy are more valuable than the money they get from selling copper cables and transformers.

Despite the current mandatory 10-year sentence for those convicted of vandalising and stealing the country’s power utility, Zesa’s infrastructure, offenders continue with illicit activities.

No matter how many people are convicted and sent to prison, the country continues to record a high number of copper cable thefts which cripples the economy.

Recently, a Beitbridge-based copper cables thief who was caught in the act by alert Zesa officers in Kensington, on the outskirts of Bulawayo, was sentenced to an effective 10 years in jail.

Kudzaishe Gwangwava (27) of Dulivhadzimu suburb in the border town was convicted of cutting, damaging, interrupting and interfering with copper cables in violation of a section of the Electricity Amendment Act12/2007 by Bulawayo regional magistrate Mrs Sibongile Marondedze.

Zimbabwe has not experienced load shedding since December 2015 yet some areas have gone for months without electricity due to vandalism of Zesa infrastructure.

Also, many rural areas cannot be electrified because Zesa is channelling funds for that purpose towards replacing vandalised infrastructure.

Recently, Zesa revealed that it had lost transformers worth about $20 million and hundreds of copper cable rods to theft and vandalism of the infrastructure.

In an interview, Zesa spokesperson Mr Fullard Gwasira said vandalism and theft of electricity infrastructure has become a serious problem in their operations to the level of economic sabotage.

“The country is losing three transformers every night, with about 4 000 having been lost so far. These are imported materials, which cost about $5 000 each bringing the total loss to $20 million to date,” he said.

Mr Gwasira said theft and vandalism of Zesa infrastructure has become prevalent throughout the country.

“With the country experiencing such losses, theft and vandalism of electricity infrastructure incidents have become a serious cause for concern and should be declared a state of emergency. The criminal elements should be charged with treason as their crimes are tantamount to economic sabotage,” he said.

Many times when there are power outages, people attack Zesa and demand an instant restoration of power.

Mr Gwasira said: “Our business is to provide electricity and once we deliberately cease servicing the nation, it means we are no longer in business. There is no load shedding so these faults are a result of copper cable thefts. Replacement of transformers is an ongoing process but we have foreign currency constraints. The cheapest transformer costs about $5 000.”

He said it was worrying to note that most of these cases were organised crime with some of the accomplices coming from different organisations including

Government departments, which are supposed to be safeguarding the country’s assets.

“Vehicles being found at some crime scenes are registered with the Central Vehicle Registry (CVR) but with no traceable details of the owners, including the name or address, hence, investigations must be done in many departments,” he said.

The magnitude of foreign currency shortages in the country, and the subsequent competition for allocations by companies and individuals wanting to process international payments, implies Zesa is unable to immediately replace transformers when stolen or destroyed.

Former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Power Development Mr Partson Mbiriri told delegates during an energy conference held concurrently with the Harare Agricultural Show last year that vandalism of power infrastructure was hampering Government’s aspirations of uninterrupted electricity supply.

Police in Bulawayo are embarking on patrols in the peripheral suburbs of the city where they record the majority of copper cable theft cases
In an interview, Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Chief Inspector Precious Simango said they have joined hands with Zesa in curbing copper cable theft.

“We handle more cases of copper cable theft in peripheral suburbs compared to the Central Business District (CBD) and Western suburbs. Police will be patrolling in these suburbs making sure that no one tampers around with Zesa infrastructure.”

“The increase of cases of copper cable theft in Bulawayo is worrisome. Sometimes it takes time for Zesa to attend crime scenes,” she said.

Chief Insp Simango said police will carry out awareness campaigns conscientising residents on the importance of Zesa infrastructure.

“These campaigns aim at making residents understand that Zesa infrastructure is of paramount importance. Tampering with copper cables can cause unnecessary loss of life,” she said, urging residents to report all power cuts to Zesa or police as some outages may be a result of vandalism of infrastructure.

“Load shedding ceased in 2015 which means any power outage may be owing to faults. We urge residents to report such cases as soon as they have a black-out. If they delay reporting, they give culprits a chance to continue with vandalism,” said Chief Insp Simango.

Many institutions, when affected by prolonged power outages, are forced to purchase generators and diesel which is a challenge in the current economic environment.

Less well resourced institutions like schools go for days without electricity, affecting pupils’ studies, meals and health.

The Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Cde Edgar Moyo bemoaned vandalism of Zesa infrastructure as it costs the education sector.

“The Government’s thrust is to have a technologically driven country which prioritises use of ICTs .When there is a power outage at a school, it means computers lie idle and it draws us back. Electricity has become a driver to our education system hence any second without it costs our policies.”

“Parents send their kids for extensive study so when there is no electricity then the idea of learning is destroyed. Also when there is no electricity, schools record more cases of misbehaviour like taking drugs and sneaking out of school.

“It’s like the Government is moulding a pot and these culprits come and destroy it. At the end we shift blame of underdevelopment to the Government while we have a hand in this,” said Mr Moyo.

Recently, Matopo High School in Matabeleland South province went for 11 days without electricity at a time when pupils were sitting for public examinations.

When the Chronicle news crew visited the school, the headmaster of the Brethren in Christ Church-run boarding school, Mr Gardson Sibanda, said after every two weeks, the school goes for five days without electricity.

Mr Sibanda said the school was relying on a generator which could only operate for a few hours. “Our generator breaks down from time to time due to overuse and it consumes up to 180 litres of diesel per day which is very expensive,” he said.

He said the non-availability of power was likely to affect the performance of his pupils in public exams as they could not prepare for the exams at night.

Mr Sibanda said cooking meals for pupils was also a big challenge when there is no electricity and the school also needs power to pump water.

On the business side, with the rentals now expensive in town, many people especially computer programmers and designers prefer working from their homes.

Power cuts costs their business.

“Mostly we agree on orders with our customers and before you finish designing maybe their t-shirts or wedding cards, then electricity goes. In business we deal with time and once you can’t deliver on time, you lose customers. We cannot work from town because rentals are expensive. However in suburbs we are affected by copper cable thefts,” said Mr John Ndlovu who runs a small printing and designing company at his Selborne Park home.

-@tamary98

You Might Also Like

Comments