ZETDC staff accused of demanding bribes to fix ele...

ZETDC staff accused of demanding bribes to fix electric faults

Zim Now Writer

ZETDC employees in the second city of Bulawayo have come under fire for allegedly demanding bribes in order for them to attend to faults.

ZETDC is supposed to fix faults free of charge, but the staff are reportedly asking clients to pay something to induce them to repair the faults.

One resident said she had to pay US$20 to get the ZETDC staff to repair an electric fault at her house.

“I ended up paying because I feared for my property as we all know that electricity can do catastrophic damage if left unchecked. However, what these Zesa people are doing is pure corruption. We demand that action be taken in order to address this issue.”

Another resident demanded that Zesa rein in its corrupt staff. ZETDC is a subsidiary of Zesa Holdings.

“These people will delay coming to fix a fault. When they come, they demand payments. We cannot accept that,” he said.

Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association chairperson Ambrose Sibindi said several residents have complained about the issue.

“Residents say they are experiencing serious challenges with Zesa staff. They claim that Zesa employees are demanding bribes before they attend to faults. We have been telling residents to report such cases or to arrest those Zesa employees defrauding people. It is their duty to fix faults. As an association, we will be writing to Zesa on behalf of residents and urge them to supervise their workers to ensure such bad practices come to an end with immediate effect,” said Sibindi.

ZETDC western region general manager Lloyd Jaji said the company does not condone such acts from its staff, adding that residents should report such incidents.

“We attend to faults free of charge, what our employees are doing is wrong, and I call upon the residents to report such incidents. We are also determined to partner with the residents to set traps for these people and catch them,” Jaji said.