Energy and Power Development Minister, Zhemu Soda has said ZESA Holdings is in the process of procuring a lot of vehicles.
He made the remarks in Parliament on Wednesday while responding to Members of Parliament who had raised concern over reports that ZESA technicians were requesting fuel and even transport from clients to attend to faults.
Parliamentarians on Wednesday asked Soda if it was now part of the ZESA’s operation procedures to ask clients to donate goods and services as they execute their duties. Minister Soda said:
What I know for now is that ZESA is procuring a lot of vehicles and they have since placed an order with Isuzu although it is taking longer for the vehicles to be delivered. The vehicles are coming in small batches yet people want service and they are calling for service in numbers.
He said it was not Government’s policy that clients donate services to ZESA technicians to use for repairs or any work related to electricity.
Minister Soda said farmers, however, offer vehicles and even fuel for ZESA technicians to fast-track attendance to their faults.
He said ZESA now demands that members of the public who offer services write an affidavit confirming that they have provided technicians with either transport or fuel.
The minister added that there are cases where ZESA technicians are given resources by members of the public to attend to faults but still approach the power utility claiming they would have used their own resources.
In urban areas, consumers also volunteer to buy power cables and transformers to fast-track connectivity and the utility company reimburses them with electricity units.