Cable thieves 'switch off' Byo suburb, plunging it...

Cable thieves 'switch off' Byo suburb, plunging it into darkness

Zim Now Writer

Copper cable thieves plunged Northend suburb in Bulawayo into darkness barely three hours after power had been restored from replacements residents had bought to replace those that had been stolen two weeks ago.

After parting with US$14 per household in order to replace copper cables that had been stolen, the residents heaved a sigh of relief.

However, the cable thieves struck again three hours later, plunging the whole suburb into darkness.

Residents are blaming Zesa for negligence, alleging that the Enfield Road substation is not secured, giving thieves easy access.

“Over 18 households had each paid US$14 which was used to replace the stolen cables. These are the same cables that we are expected to replace right now. We are not happy because as long as the substation is not protected, it means we are still going to buy more cables and transformers because thieves will always go to the substation and switch it off,” one resident said.

The substation has also become a hazard to children who can easily go to play inside because its doors are at times left open.

ZETDC Western region manager Engineer Lloyd Jaji said they are aware that the Enfield Road Substation is not secure.

“We are working on trying to secure the area as soon as possible. The vandalism and theft is rampant all over the city. If at the time of theft, we do not have any cables in stock, we allow those residents/clients that have the capacity and cannot wait for our due procurement process to buy replacement cables. We then credit such clients’ accounts as compensation for supply of cables,” he said.

Copper cable thieves have been wreaking havoc in Zimbabwe, targeting Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) copper cables and transformers, leaving suburbs in darkness.

The power utility is advocating for a of the sentence passed for individuals convicted of stealing power cables and transformers from 10 years to 30 years as a deterrent to the currently prejudicing Zesa of over US$2 million annually.

Zesa subsidiary, the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) needs over US$14 million to procure intruder detection gadgets to fight the scourge while at the same time it has since invited whistle-blowers to arrest the upsurge in vandalism and theft of electricity infrastructure.