Albert Chavhunduka
Government has enacted the Electricity Amendment Bill 2022 which seeks stiffer penalties for the abstraction or diversion of electricity or the use of such electricity knowing that it was illegally abstracted or diverted.
This comes at a time the country is grappling with prolonged power outages which besides low generation capacity, has also been attributed to illegal connections and vandalism of infrastructure.
Parliament approved the amendment of the Electricity Act (Chapter 13:19) with the new amendments now attracting an imprisonment sentence of not less than 10 years.
Cited as Electricity Amendment Bill H.B.7, 2022, the Bill removed the option of a fine in the event that one is convicted of a crime and introduces stiffer penalties for the transportation of material used in connection with the generation, transmission, distribution or supply of electricity without the option of a fine.
The Bill, which was published in the Government Gazette on 29 July 2022 was assented to by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, making it immediately effective.
“This clause provides for the introduction of stiffer penalties for the abstraction or diversion of any electric current, or the use of such electric current, knowing it to have been unlawfully abstracted or diverted. Currently the Act provides for an option to pay a fine where one is convicted for such a crime, and the Bill proposes to remove the option to pay a fine generally, unless they are special circumstances peculiar to the case that may warrant awarding the option to pay a fine,” read the Bill.
“This clause provides for the introduction of stiffer penalties for transportation of material used in connection with generation, transmission, distribution or supply of electricity. Currently the Act provides for an option to pay a fine where one is convicted for such a crime, and the Bill proposes to remove the option to pay a fine and instead for one to be liable to imprisonment for a period not less than 10 years. The clause also makes provision for the Court to consider special circumstances, which might be exempted from this stiffer penalty.”
The Government gazette added that the Bill substituted the payment of a fine or imprisonment which exceeds five years with a stiffer penalty of imprisonment for not less than 10 years.
“This Act may be cited as the Electricity Amendment Act, 2022. Transportation of material used in connection with generation, transmission, distribution or supply of electricity of the principal Act is amended in subsection (2) by the deletion of “and liable to a fine not exceeding level 14 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years or to both such fine and such imprisonment” and the substitution of “and if there are no special circumstances peculiar to the case as provided for in subsection (2a), be liable to imprisonment for a period of not less than ten years by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection(2a),” read the Bill.
“If a person referred to in subsection (2) satisfies the court that there are special circumstances peculiar to the case, which circumstances shall be recorded by the court, why the penalty provided under subsection (2) should not be imposed, the convicted person shall be liable to a fine up to or exceeding level fourteen or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years, or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
“(2b) A court sentencing a person under subsection (2) shall not order that the operation of the whole or any part of the sentence be suspended.”. (c) by the repeal of subsection (3).”
ZESA Holdings, the country’s power utility, has lost millions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure through vandalism over the years and has been struggling to replace some components as a result of the shortage of foreign currency need to buy spares.
The country is currently facing serious power shortages which have seen some parts of the country going for up to 12 hours without electricity per day.