Harare Mayor: ZESA’s Prepaid Street-Light Policy Endangers Public

Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume has criticised ZESA’s prepaid meter rollout on streetlights and traffic signals, warning it endangers public safety and calling for policy reforms to address arrears without risking darkness and accidents (image source)

Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume has condemned ZESA’s installation of prepaid electricity meters on public infrastructure, warning that the policy threatens road safety, fuels crime and undermines municipal services.

Mafume said fitting prepaid meters to tower lights, traffic signals and streetlights creates a “cobra effect” — a short-term technical fix that produces long-term public harm. Several tower-light disconnections in recent weeks have left suburbs in darkness, prompting urgent talks with ZESA to find alternatives.

Utility’s rationale ZESA’s distribution arm, ZETDC, began installing prepaid meters on public lighting in mid-2025 to improve revenue collection and compel councils to settle arrears. Officials said the rollout, notified in 2024 and phased in with grace units, was designed to strengthen financial sustainability.

Safety risks But the programme has already triggered outages of tower lights and traffic signals when councils failed to buy tokens, deepening urban darkness and raising risks of accidents and night-time crime. Local reports highlight shutdowns in satellite towns and fears of disrupted essential services.

Policy critics argue the move offloads systemic debt management onto frontline infrastructure without tackling root causes of arrears, such as low fiscal transfers, weak revenue collection and tariff disputes. Mafume urged a policy rethink centred on public safety rather than blunt technical measures.

National push for prepaid systems

Government policy has pressed ZESA to expand prepaid and smart meters across parastatals and government offices to normalise upfront payment and secure cash flow for grid upgrades. ZESA also plans to replace aging meters nationwide with digital systems to cut losses and reduce billing disputes.

“This prepaid electricity system has gone wild; it looks good on paper but has disastrous effects on the public,” Mafume said.