Zesa cleans debtors’ book

Ndaka Majaka

NATIONAL power utility, Zesa Holdings, says it is moving to clean its debtors’ book and has managed to collect over 15 percent of the ZWL$1,2 billion it was owed by domestic customers.

Acting Zesa Holdings Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Chivaura, told ZTN that the power utility was almost done migrating customers to a pre-paid system.

“We have a small number left on the domestic pre-paid system. The debt has gone down and we are recovering our money very well for those who are on the pre-paid system,” Chivaura said.

Zesa’s subsidiary, the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), recently said it had increased debt collection of all money it is owed.

“The company has intensified debt collection of all monies owed. Newly added is the strategy of blacklisting defaulters with Credit Bureaus until all debt and interest is paid. Under Phase one 28 000 defaulting customers are set to be handed over.

“Blacklisting includes defaulting companies and individuals. To avoid being blacklisted, defaulting customers are advised to visit their nearest customer service centre and negotiate a payment plan to avoid definite inconveniences,” ZETDC said.

The power utility is adopting various measures that include blacklisting,
installation of prepayment meters for domestic consumers and small institutions, and installation of smart meters for medium and large power users that consume 100 Amps and above.