This is part of
ZETDC’s enforcement of its prepayment system, which has left drivers navigating
increasingly hazardous conditions.
The Bulawayo
City Council is responsible for traffic lights in the city and according to the
new regulations, the local authority has to purchase electricity tokens for
them to be operational.
Last year,
several suburbs in the city were left in the dark after the power utility
switched off tower lights after upgrading them to the pre-payment system.
Sunday News
observed that some of the traffic lights that have since been switched off
include the ones at the intersection of Nketa Drive and Luveve Road, Birkenhead
and Plumtree Road intersection, George Avenue and Gwanda Road intersection as
well as Siyephambili and Nketa Drive intersection.
Responding to
queries on the status of these traffic lights, the local authority’s corporate
communications manager, Mrs Nesisa Mpofu said while the power utility had since
last year been effecting the prepayment system on the traffic lights, the local
authority was not privy to the programme of works so they are made aware
beforehand which traffic lights were being introduced to the system.
She said the
city’s traffic lights are classified as electrical loads and like any other
powered infrastructure, require electricity to function and as a result, their
operation is subject to standard billing by ZETDC for the energy consumed.
“The City of
Bulawayo was made aware of the exercise in 2024 of converting traffic lights
and street lights from conventional meters to prepaid metering. The City,
however, does not have a programme of works or schedule of the areas where
ZETDC is working on, to speedily attend to the registration and facilitate the
electricity tokens.
“For the
affected areas Council has done the necessary procedures for registration of
these new prepaid meters and is awaiting submission of invoices by ZETDC to
facilitate payment and electricity tokens,” said Mrs Mpofu.
She revealed
that to keep a set of traffic lights operational, approximately ZWG3 000 per
month is required per intersection.
Last year, the
power utility switched off Bulawayo tower lights from postpaid metering as part
of its migration to a prepaid model.
The exercise
was met with residents’ uproar while the council claimed the tower lights were
switched off without prior notice. ZETDC insisted there was communication
before the exercise.
ZETDC started
the national prepayment metering rollout project in 2012, targeting domestic
and small commercial customers and has been conducting the exercise in phases
since then. Sunday News
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