A call to ZESA
Zimbabwe makes a very bad case of state enterprises and parastatals that are in the habit of casually dismissing any financial obligations that accrue to them because of their negligence.
ZESA is a very bad case in point.
An alarming number of cases have arisen where Zimbabweans minding their own business have been left scarred for life after coming into contact with live electricity cables the victims say were very negligently left exposed by ZESA personnel.
A recent case is one of a 10-year old who is said to have been left badly disfigured after being electrocuted by live ZESA cables that had been left exposed.
The young lad who is said to have been an athlete, soccer player and a traditional dancer at school had his left hand amputated after the incident which occurred on October 30, 2011.
He also lost two toes on his left foot and four toes on his right foot.
He is claiming USD60,000 which I still think is paltry considering that he has been maimed for life.
In other highly litigious countries, he could have “easily” claimed millions, but what does Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) say?
“In response, ZETDC pleaded with the court to dismiss the application, arguing there was no link between Zesa cables and its firm. ZETDC is a separate and distinct legal persona; defendant on this basis denies any liability. Any assistance rendered was for an accident involving the defendant and was made on compassionate grounds,” ZETDC said,” according to the news report.
But this not the first such case and it has come to typify how our public enterprises deal with issues of compensation for their brazen negligence.
In early June of this year, it was again reported that a Banket farm worker who was electrocuted by naked ZESA cables in 2010 was still struggling to get her compensation.
The woman who had her left hand amputated and her eyesight affected by the electrocution told a local daily that “although she had approached the power utility seeking $30 000 compensation for her injuries, she had not yet been paid “a single cent”.”
A medical report says about the woman: “Long-term complications are post electrical burns syndrome, which include cataracts, seizures and chronic pain. Left below elbow amputation will result in permanent disability, phantom limb pain.”
And she is yet to get a cent?
In May this year, it was reported that a man who had been electrocuted in Zvishavane had sued ZESA subsidiary Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) for USD80,000 after coming into contact with exposed ZESA cables in 2010.
A news report puts ZETDC’s response this way: “ZETDC, however, hit back on Mavenga’s claims and said it was not negligent in any way since its power lines are constantly maintained. ZETDC further said no report of a broken power line had been made. The Plaintiff (Mavenga) was negligent in failing to keep a proper lookout whilst using a footpath that was close to the power lines,” ZETDC said in its papers.”
Where is the responsible minister to stop all this nonsense?
And then when people boycott paying their bills, ZESA cries foul!