By Amos Sikaonga 
By Cecilia Chiluba
ZESCO Limited has disclosed that it has recovered K277, 405 worth of transformer parts in Solwezi district, Western province in acts of vandalism, while K112, 430 Church Pole Mounted Transformer (PMT) has been saved from theft.
According to a statement issued by ZESCO’s Corporate Affairs Department, twelve arrests have since been made across four provinces in the past 24 hours, with criminals now targeting critical community infrastructure:
The Department said in Southern Province, K2,471 worth of cables were stolen from Manyonyo Primary School in Mazabuka, disrupting education.
“In Central Province, K2,703 worth of cables were stolen from Kabwe homes and New Apostolic Church and in Lusaka, K42,706 worth of transformers were vandalized at Kasupe, while K112,430 PMT was saved at Barlastone.”
“In Northwestern province, a suspect was arrested for theft of K277,405 worth of transformers in Solwezi, while a motorcycle has been recovered,” the statement read.
The Corporation added that while it manages scheduled load shedding, vandalism creates unpredictable blackouts as Schools and clinics lose power unexpectedly.
It noted that vandalism also diverts repair teams from maintenance to emergency fixes.
“The impact of vandalism is that pupils study in darkness after school cable theft, while Church services are disrupted by power cuts and families pay for criminals’ actions through extended outages.”
“We appeal to the public to protect our transformers by reporting suspicious activity near electricity infrastructure and rejecting stolen copper as this fuels more vandalism,” it added.
Cecilia Chiluba 
Joseph Tembo