The Sunday News
Peter Matika, Senior Life Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) last Monday cut off power to Cloud Nine Emirates Restaurant and Pub, a move which the club owner claimed was another attempt to muscle him out of the business by rivals, Sunday Life can reveal.
Indian investor — Uathalil Sasi Samanhraj revealed that he will not back down and is literally ready to take the battle beyond the grave.
Samanhraj warmly referred to as Raj told Sunday Life that despite having the zeal to fight for his investment, he was also subjected to suffering from emotional and physical distress caused by what has transpired since venturing into the business.
“What is surprising to me is that this building has been lying idle, from what I have been told, for the past 17 years and nobody has had interest in developing it since. Ever since I came to invest in Zimbabwe I have been subjected to extortion and I literally wonder if this is how all other foreign investors are treated,” he said.
Concerning the issue of power being cut from the building, Raj said the unpaid electricity bill has been accumulating since 2011, way before he came into the picture.
“They claim that I owe the power company $6 997, which has accumulated from 2011. I only started operating this pub in January this year. How on earth could I have accumulated such a bill?” said Raj.
He added that since power was cut off from the pub they had since engaged the power authority countless times to get them to restore it.
“We have literally engaged Zesa many times but they have refused to entertain our plea. This is a straight forward case and they acknowledged that the bill is from years back, long before I was even here. Cloud 9 management even pleaded with them to come up with a payment plan so as not to disrupt business at the pub but they refused. We offered to settle the bill, where we offered to pay $250 a week but they still refused.”
Since power was cut last Monday the pub was forced to close for two days only to reopen on Wednesday, running on a generator.
He also mentioned that there were other companies operating at the complex situated at 107 George Silundika, Corner George Silundika and 11th Avenues.
“I am surprised that the bill has been footed to me yet there are other tenants occupying some offices in this complex. I trust that relevant officials will look into this matter as soon as possible,” he said.
Zesa spokesperson Fullard Gwasira however, said it was impossible for Zesa to refuse to entertain any company or person willing to enter into a payment plan.
“The issue should be taken to Zesa customer services. This is an issue that can easily be resolved. There is actually a statutory instrument, which allows for such a plan to be made. If the issue persists and they don’t get a satisfactory answer they should by all means engage the general manager or the managing director,” said Gwasira.
