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Nqobile Tshili Chronicle Reporter—
BULAWAYO City Council is continuing with water disconnections against defaulting residents in violation of a recent court judgment declaring such cuts unconstitutional. The municipality has been disconnecting residents who owe it varying amounts, with the action said to be most prevalent in Nkulumane suburb.
Early this month, the High Court barred all local authorities from effecting water disconnections without first establishing their claims in court. But the recent action by the city council is in violation of that order.
In an interview yesterday, Bulawayo Mayor Councillor Martin Moyo said they had not received an official directive barring them from disconnecting defaulting residents.
“Probably we need an official directive from the mother ministry. We only read about the issue in the Press but we have not yet received any communication stopping us. Our decisions are not based on what we read in the papers, but on information communicated to us,” he said.
The Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, Cde Ignatius Chombo, was not picking up his phone when reached yesterday.
But in the landmark ruling, the High Court in Harare stopped all municipalities countrywide from disconnecting water supplies for defaulting residents without seeking recourse to the courts of law.
Justice Chinembiri Bhunu described as illegal Section 8 of the Water by-law Statutory Instrument 164 of 1913 which empowers local authorities to cut off water supplies arbitrarily in the absence of a court order.
He said the by-law was an illegal instrument drafted by municipal authorities contrary to the Constitution and the enabling statute.
Section 8 of the Water by-law 164/1913 reads; “Council may, by giving 24 hours notice in writing and without prejudicing its right to obtain payment for water supply to its consumer, disconnect supplies to the consumer:
“(a) If he shall have failed to pay any sum, which in the opinion of the council, is due under these conditions or the water by-laws.”
Justice Bhunu said the tendency of disconnecting water supplies without the blessing of the courts was tantamount to self-help by municipalities and a disregard of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
Prior to the judgment, legal experts had been speaking against council’s strategy of compelling consumers to pay saying it was illegal but Justice Bhunu spelt it out in a case in which Harare lawyer Farai Mushoriwa was contesting disconnection of water at his flat in Harare.
Mushoriwa of Mawere and Sibanda law firm in Harare had water disconnected from his flat at No. 12 Northcliffe over a debt of $1,600. He denied owing council anything, but council rushed to disconnect water at the flat. Cllr Moyo said council was not aware of provisions that were cited in the court case resulting in that ruling, so he could not be drawn to comment on it.
However, residents blasted council for not adhering to the country’s laws saying it was setting a wrong precedent.
Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association programmes manager Emmanuel Ndlovu said council’s defiance was unnecessary.
“They are doing it deliberately and out of malice. They disregard the laws of the country. We expect them to play a leading role in following the laws of the country. They are setting a wrong precedent for ordinary people when it comes to abiding to the country’s laws,” said Ndlovu.
He called on affected residents to approach their offices for assistance.
Bulawayo United Residents Association chairperson Winos Dube castigated the municipality for what he said unbecoming decision. He said council’s action was a mockery to the country’s justice system.
Londile Moyo
Online Reporter