Suburban
Diana Nherera, Suburban Reporter
Some residents of Mandara have gone for almost four months without electricity and are unsure when power will be restored to their households.
Affected residents live along Riverton Crescent where a transformer was vandalized on December 30 last year and is still to be repaired. They have been without power since and are also missing out on the current improvement in electricity availability following an easing in load shedding as most industries and businesses are closed in observance of the 21-day countrywide lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“That transformer is at the corner of Taunton Road and Riverton Road.
“So the Zesa guys came, cut some wires and dropped the transformer because they wanted some copper materials which were inside.
“And ever since that time, we are in darkness,” said a resident who lives along Riverton Crescent.
The resident said they are currently relying on generators for alternative power.
“Some of us don’t have solar so the best we can do is run a generator maybe an hour in the morning to keep fridges going then maybe three hours in the evening but the fuel bill is just outrageous so now we have resorted to running the generator maybe two hours in the evening.”
Some residents have not been able to keep up with the fuel costs and are being forced to switch off electrical appliances.
“Fridges and freezers, we have virtually switched them off because all the meat that was in there was getting bad so we ended up just drying some of the meat and once it was finished, we could not replace. You can imagine the life we are living when we are used to keeping our foodstuffs in the fridge.
“Now we have to buy every day and it’s expensive,” said the resident.
The darkness is also posing security concerns for the residents as criminals thrive in such scenarios taking advantage of the lack of lighting.
The affected residents said they were prepared to assist Zesa with whatever material is needed to have power restored to their households.
“We have been to Zesa and we don’t know when power will be restored.
“They said they don’t have transformers but we suggested that we be connected to an idle transformer that is at the corner of Wallis and Riverton Roads.
“So they came and inspected and said it’s possible and they said they need to get some materials and that was two weeks ago and residents said they are prepared to buy whatever is required,” said the resident.
Zesa spokesperson Mr Fullard Gwasira could not be reached for a comment.
