20/02/2026
ZETDC faces pressure in Mbare over service delivery
In Mbare, Harare’s oldest and most densely populated community, residents' frustration over electricity outages, cable theft and delayed service responses reached a critical point during a stakeholder engagement meeting with the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission & Distribution Company (ZETDC) yesterday at Stodart Hall.
Residents expressed urgent concerns about weeks of power loss, unclear communication from the utility, and the expectation that communities might have to fund replacement of vandalised underground cables. One resident asked, “Why are residents asked to buy cables when theft occurs?”, reflecting a widespread sentiment among attendees.
ZETDC officials acknowledged the crisis, stating that cable theft and vandalism have severely strained the utility’s capacity to respond. They clarified that residents are not obliged to pay for cable replacements; when communities undertake such actions, ZETDC provides technical guidance and may offer reimbursement through electricity tokens. The utility also noted that underground cable faults are difficult to locate, and a shift to overhead lines is constrained by infrastructure and material shortages.
Security issues were also raised, including dark streets due to unpaid municipal accounts, vulnerable substations, and impostors posing as ZETDC staff. They announced plans to install CCTV and alarm systems and to operate a national fault‑reporting call centre accessible.
The meeting highlighted an underlying trust deficit, with residents feeling ignored and left in the dark both literally and figuratively. While no immediate solutions were announced, the engagement resulted in official acknowledgment of the problems. Residents of Mbare, where electricity is a vital lifeline, are now demanding to be heard and seeking concrete actions from ZETDC.
ZETDC The City of Harare