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This follows an outcry by residents who said the move was meant to impoverish them.
Attaching residents’ property also drew the ire of residents associations, who lashed at the council, saying by attaching residents’ property council was being insensitive to the people’s plight.
Speaking at a residents meeting at Macdonald Hall in Mzilikazi on Sunday, Clr Moyo said the decision to suspend attaching residents’ property was with immediate effect.
Clr Moyo said a caucus of councillors convened on Friday resolved to suspend attaching debtors’ properties.
“We have noted your concerns on the issue of attaching property. The good news is that council resolved to suspend attaching property on Friday. We had a special council meeting where we agreed to stop attaching property and after that caucus I instructed the department to immediately enforce the council resolution,” said Clr Moyo.
He said councillors resolved that they would have to negotiate with debtors and agree on payment plans instead of attaching property.
“We have to negotiate with the people who owe council and see how they can pay their outstanding bills. This issue of taking each other to debt collectors is bad and only big companies might have their properties attached,” said Clr Moyo.
The council has been battling to recover about $62 million it is owed by residents and companies as well as government departments unpaid bills.
Domestic debtors owe council about $35 million, the Government about $3,9 million while the industrial and commercial debtors owe about $23 million.
In the past few weeks, the local authority launched a blitz against defaulters which saw property of 16 households’ being attached and auctioned.
A handful of residents who attended the meeting organised by the Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association welcomed the decision and applauded the council for finally considering their plight.
Ms Nomsa Dube, from E Square in Mzilikazi, said the decision came as a relief to residents who feared losing property.
The meeting was meant to address issues of service delivery and residents expressed concern over public toilets, which they said had been commercialised while others, especially at G Square, had not been opened since the time they were built nearly 15 years ago.
Residents also urged council to push for the takeover of Bulawayo Power Station as part of measures to ease power challenges facing the city.
Clr Moyo appealed to residents to also lobby for the takeover of the power station.
“You refused to give away water distribution to the Government and you should do the same and push for the power station to be returned,” said a resident.
The residents also appealed to the council to reopen the maternity ward at Mzilikazi Clinic, which they said had not been working for about three years, leaving them with the burden of going to North End Clinic which was far away given the fact that some of them have to walk to the clinic.
Online Reporter