ZESCO Limited, formerly Zambia Electricity Supply Company, has recorded a total of 261 cases of vandalism in the first quarter of 2020.
The cost of the vandalism is estimated at 1,657,267.03 Zambian Kwacha (US$ 90, 489.13).
The most vandalised items were Transmission towers, transformers and copper cables (overhead service and underground cables).
The highest number of incidences were recorded on the Copper belt, Southern, North-Western and Lusaka provinces.
“As a corporation we are saddened by this development as it is detrimental to the development of the energy sector and the country at large. As you know electrical equipment involves huge amounts of money and investments and any acts of vandalism is retrogressive and takes the corporation and the country backward,” Hazel M. Zulu (Mrs.) Public Relations Manager ZESCO Limited said in a statement.
“We therefore want to send a stern warning to perpetrators of such vices that ZESCO will not relent in ensuring that the culprits are arrested and brought to book,” the statement added.
It is also important to note that ZESCO recorded a total of 47 arrests in the period under review.
In addition, the corporation successfully secured 12 convictions while 41 cases are still active in the Courts of Law.
“As a Corporation, we remain committed to ensuring that we ‘make it easy for people to live a better life’ as we continue to work vigorously to bring these vile acts to a halt. Our call to the public is to join the fight against vandalism and report any such acts to the police service to ensure that the institution continues to provide sufficient and quality electricity to all its citizens,” the statement concluded.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
