Pumula Residents Endure Four Months Without Electricity in Bulawayo

Residents in parts of Pumula, a suburb of Bulawayo, have been without electricity for more than four months after electrical cables and a transformer supplying power to at least 121 households were damaged.

The prolonged outage has left families struggling with daily life, while residents say repeated efforts to seek help from the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) have produced no meaningful response.

Community members raised their concerns during a meeting organised by the Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) on Wednesday, where residents described the severe impact the blackout has had on their lives.

Elderly residents say the situation has become particularly difficult because many rely on refrigeration to store essential medication. One resident, Gogo Mabhena, explained that some medicines, including injections and pills, must be kept cold.

“We have gone for a very long time without electricity. Some of us are now old and we have pills and injections that need to be stored in refrigerators. How safe is it to store such sensitive substances with neighbours?” she said.

Residents also reported the inconvenience of having to rely on neighbours in other areas to charge mobile phones and preserve food.

Another resident, identified as Lucky, said the community had previously been asked to contribute money toward repairs. According to him, households were initially required to pay US$13 each to repair damaged cables, which only restored electricity for about a week.

“After that, we were asked to pay another US$37 per household for a replacement transformer, which many elderly residents simply cannot afford,” he said.

Ward 17 chairperson Elias Nyathi from the residents’ association expressed frustration over what he described as a lack of action from authorities. He said the community had contacted several officials from ZESA as well as the local Member of Parliament, Sichelilesile Mahlangu, but the problem remains unresolved.

Nyathi argued that it is unfair for residents to be forced to fund the replacement of major electrical infrastructure when the damage may not have been caused by the community.

Residents are now appealing for urgent intervention from authorities to restore electricity and ease the hardship affecting vulnerable households in the area.