At least 2Â 000 households in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, have been left without power after thieves vandalised transformers and cables, it was reported on Thursday.
Residents of densely populated suburbs such as Mabvuku, Highfield and Kambuzuma are the worst affected, a spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) told the state-controlled Herald newspaper.
”At least 80 transformers are down and among those transformers 27 have plunged about 2Â 000 households into darkness as a result of theft and vandalism of Zesa property,” said spokesperson James Maridadi.
The paper said that several suburbs in the second largest city of Bulawayo had also spent five days without electricity due to the breakdown of transformers in their areas.
Thieves siphon oil from transformer substations to mix with diesel, while power cables are melted down to make pots and pans.
Zimbabwe is critically short of foreign currency needed to import spares to repair vandalised equipment.
The country, which is experiencing its worst economic crisis in 27 years of independence, is also suffering from acute shortages of food, fuel and medicines.
The power utility spends millions of Zimbabwe dollars a month on repairs to vandalised equipment.
In November, 17 electricity transmission towers collapsed in southern Zimbabwe after vandals stole their support cables.
Some desperate Zimbabweans are turning to theft to survive amid a worsening economic crisis marked by inflation of more than 1Â 000%, with spiralling poverty and unemployment. — Sapa-dpa