OPPOSITION Zapu party, led by Sibangilizwe Nkomo, has described the ruling Zanu PF government as “parasitic”, saying its bigwigs and government departments enjoy immunity on electricity bill payments when they owe power utility huge amounts of money.
Sibangilizwe is the son of the late former Vice-President and Zapu founder Joshua Nkomo.
The party said non-payment of electricity bills by bureaucrats and government departments had led to the collapse of many parastatals including Zesa, leading to the current electricity crisis.
Zapu national secretary for economic development, Stenny Winfred Mathe told Southern Eye: “The Zanu PF government has always been parasitic, and is rooted deep in its belief of entitlement as a reward for liberating the country.”
Mathe was reacting to reports that at least 100 top government officials, including service chiefs, will have free 5 kilovolt solar panels installed at their homes at the taxpayers’ expense to cushion them from electricity outages.
“Their homes, farms and business properties owe the power utility millions for unpaid electricity bills spanning decades. Zanu PF has run the government as a pension scheme for its liberation sacrifices and behaves like lice, which sucks the blood of the host until the host drops dead," Mathe said.
“Instead of seeking payment of these outstanding debts, government is rewarding ministers and senior civil servants with solar systems. As if that is not enough, the solar systems are acquired at ridiculously inflated prices in yet another corrupt deal to enrich the same people who caused this electricity crisis.”
Mathe said pillaging of the National Railways of Zimbabwe by the Zanu PF government had affected transportation of coal meant for electricity generation, and had multiplier effects on downstream industries.
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“Zesa is also incapacitated by government through the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority by regulating the price of electricity below market prices as viewed through the Southern Africa Power Pool. While government implements price controls, it fails to supplement the power authority’s financial loss by providing subsidies."
Mathe said interference by the ruling Zanu PF party on operations of parastatals through deployments of its cadres — some of them unqualified — had added to the energy crisis.
Currently, Zimbabweans have to endure rolling power cuts.
The Hwange Power Station, with an installed capacity of 920MW, was as of yesterday, generating 366MW, while Kariba was supplying 171MW to give a total of 537MW against a peak demand of 2 200MW.
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