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Sukoluhle Ndlovu Midlands Correspondent
ZIMBABWE Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) is owed over $1 billion by companies, farmers and households on post-paid meters.

Addressing delegates attending the ZETDC Southern and Western Regions 2019 energy management symposium recently, commercial director Engineer Ralph Katsande said the bulk of the debt was owed by local authorities.

“We are owed just over $1 billion and the largest debtors are local authorities mostly through water pumping, treatment, sewer and other essential services,” he said. “This is followed by domestic debt which is around $300 million which we recovering through prepaid platform.” Eng Katsande said they had given businesses six months to clear their debts.

“For business we are using payment plans and giving them six months to clear their debt,” he said. “We are also engaging last customers in key management to encourage them to pay. We have also gone the root of litigation where customers are in arrears and are not complying sometimes we have to disconnect supply. We have also engaged debt collectors across the country to assist us recover the debt. We have also gone to the extent of blacklisting those defaulters with credit bureau agencies.”

Eng Katsande said strategies they were employing to recover debts were paying off.