Kaura Namoda, the second largest city in Zamfara state, has continued to be in darkness and economic devaluation due to incessant power outage over the years.
It is worth stating that we are helpless, uncared for, and badly treated as law abiding citizens. The Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDCO) is operating as an oracle, considering the way they handle customers with impunity, especially the Kaura Namoda community.
There is no respect to their guidelines for operation nor to their customers. Thus, keeping us in perpetual darkness and charging us mercilessly, because we have no option due to the monopoly in electricity distribution in our area.
As a business hub, Kaura Namoda is now in a sorry state in terms of power supply, which cripples our economy and block opportunities for entrepreneurship, thereby increasing the level of unemployment amongst youths and making others hopeless.
In fairness, we need to acknowledge the efforts of some KAEDCO staff who are always doing their best to manage the obsolete equipment in Kaura Namoda power station and other sub-stations, mostly using their personal tools .
To buttress my point, KAEDCO supplies power to the Kaura Namoda community once in a while, at least for 1-3 hours, mostly at month end, with the sole aim of getting their customers to settle their electricity bills to avoid disconnection even when notices were not served.
In the case of problems like fallen electricity poles, transformer faults, Fuses, cables etc., KAEDCO only left its staff and customers to shoulder the responsibility of repairing the faulty equipment from their resources.
We are placed on estimation monthly billing regardless of whether the power is supplied or not, and customers are made to pay as high as N4,000 at the least. There was a time early this year, when we were jubilating over improved power supply, which subsequently abased and diminished.
At present Kaura Namoda 33KVA power sub-station is faulty thereby putting the community in darkness and making the operational staff to operate in more hazardous conditions.
Due to the aforementioned, we are calling on the relevant authorities to come to our aid and save us from this traumatic condition, so that we can have a sense of belonging as Nigerians.
*Kaura is publicity secretary, Kaura Namoda Focus Forum, Zamfara state.
