Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume has raised alarm over the installation of prepaid electricity meters on public infrastructure calling the move a disastrous policy that is endangering public safety and fueling crime.

In an interview, Mafume criticised the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) for installing prepaid meters on tower lights, traffic lights and streetlights across the city.

"We are discussing with ZESA. There seems to have been a prepaid electricity system gone wild, it looks good on paper to say that you have put a prepaid meter on a tower light or traffic light but it has disastrous effects on the public," he said.

Mafume compared the situation to a failed incentive program in India where authorities paid residents for killing cobras only for people to begin breeding them for profit.

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"This policy of putting prepaid meters on street lights and tower lights has got a cobra effect on the residents. It's just a bad policy," he said

He said there is need for public-oriented policy design warning against technical solutions that ignore real-world impact.

"We should have a public policy element in how we implement ideas that may look good on paper but have disastrous consequences on the ground," Mafume said.

He said the city hopes ongoing engagements with ZESA will lead to a safer more sustainable approach.

Through its power distribution arm Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), ZESA started installing prepaid electricity meters on public street and tower lights in June.

The rollout, the power utility said was aimed at improving service delivery, reduce losses and ensure local councils pay for the power they use.

ZETDC claimed that councils were notified of the plan as far back as June 2024 and were sent reminders in May 2025.