BCC taken to task over high charges

Temba Dube Senior Reporter
THE Competition and Tariffs Commission (CTC)’s hearing into allegations of overcharging of residents by the Bulawayo City Council yesterday started late with council officials declaring that the organisation’s chairman, Mr Dumisani Sibanda was not fit to preside over the hearing.The CTC is a statutory body established through the merger of the former Industry and Trade Competition Commission and the Tariff Commission.
The hearing was meant to determine whether council was using its monopoly over services like water and sewer reticulation to manipulate residents into paying more.

Just as the meeting, held at a city hotel, was about to start, Bulawayo Deputy Mayor, Councillor Amen Mpofu demanded that Mr Sibanda should step down from the podium.

He said Mr Sibanda could not be both a complainant and a judge in the matter.
“The chairman is an interested party in this issue. According to the law, he cannot preside over the meeting because he also owes council money. He has not paid rates since 2009. I object to his presence on the hearing board,” said Clr Mpofu.

Mr Sibanda tried to defend himself, saying he was qualified to be a member of the board of enquiry as he had declared his interest in the matter.
“I wear two hats, because I stated my interest beforehand,” said Mr Sibanda.

The city’s Town Clerk, Mr Middleton Nyoni, also demanded that Mr Sibanda should step down.
Amid raised voices, the meeting had to be adjourned as members of the board caucused on the issue.
After a stoppage of almost 20 minutes, the board emerged, without Mr Sibanda to start the meeting.

His deputy, Mrs Varaidzo Zifudzi chaired the meeting and Mr Sibanda went on to sit with complainants against council.
Businesses, represented by the Association of Businesses in Zimbabwe (Abuz) complained that the rates that were being charged by council, based on the valuation roll that was generated in 2011, were excessive as well as illegal as they had been arrived at in a way that contravened the Urban Councils Act.

Mr Ted Schultz, Abuz’s legal committee chairperson, said section 247 of the Act provided that a new valuation roll should be made within a period not exceeding 15 years, from the last valuation.

“Prior to the publication of the 2011 general valuation, the previous valuation was performed by the Bulawayo City Council on 1995. It is therefore respectfully submitted that council has failed to comply with the time periods specified by the Urban Councils Act and that the publication of the 2011 general valuation roll has been performed ultra vires the Act,” said Mr Schultz.

He called on the board to cancel the rates and prevent them from being levied on businesses in the city.
A number of social clubs in the city said council was taking advantage of being the only service provider to charge unreasonable rates because it knew residents did not have alternative providers of council services.

They said the new valuation roll caused them to be charged commercial rates on their clubs, despite the fact that they were non-profit making organisations.

“Our rates have jumped by up to 1 100 percent and our viability and existence is under threat as we cannot afford the rates,” said a representative of the clubs.

A Lochview resident also complained that the new valuation roll had resulted in exorbitant rates that poor plot-holders could not afford.
“I have a four acre plot and my monthly rates shot up to $125 from $25. Most plot-holders are old people who cannot pay. The other problem is that council does not collect refuse in the area and its consultation meetings are held at the City Hall about 12 kilometres from poor residents,” said the resident.

Other residents said council billing was chaotic as they were often given different figures when they enquired about bills. They complained about water cuts, saying they affected poor residents.

The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe’s southern region manager, Mr Comfort Muchekeza said council’s monopoly made the local authority irresponsible to the extent that whenever questioned about its shortcomings, it shifted blame to other entities like Zesa, the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) and Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara).

Responding to the allegations, the city’s legal officer, Ms Spekiwa Guta, acknowledged that council had a monopoly over services, but said it was Government’s doing.

“We are an entity that was created in terms of the Urban Councils Act. All our duties are spelt out in the Act. We are a monopoly because Government created us as such. We cannot change, only a policy change at national level can change our status,” said Ms Guta.

She said council went out of its way to exceed the dictates of the Act in formulating the valuation roll and rates as it consulted residents more than once before making important decisions.

“We followed every step of the Act and when people were given the chance to raise objections against the valuation roll, no one did. We have had a standstill budget with the only increase being $1 this year, for the Insiza Dam pipe duplication that was approved by residents,” said Ms Guta.

She said council could not do away with water cuts because there were the only leverage against residents who did not pay bills.
“Water cuts are provided for in council by-laws under Section 7(1) of 1960. Council cannot continue providing services to a consumer who does not pay as it uses money to treat water and bring it to residents. In fact the city may have the cheapest and cleanest water in the country as residents get the first five kilolitres (about 25 drumfuls) free every month,” said Ms Guta.

Council’s chamber secretary Mrs Sikhangele Zhou said rates charged in the city were reasonable.
“The rates are designed to discourage land hoarding in the face of a housing backlog topping 100 000. Imagine people complaining about paying $50 per acre of idle land every month when council can put up to 40 high density residential stands in an acre and charge each household $15 per month,” said Mrs Zhou.

She said people were incorrect to blame relocation of industries from the city on water shedding.
“An analysis has revealed that water-based industries are not leaving the city. In fact the biggest user of water, Delta Beverages, recently built a new plant,” said Mrs Zhou.

“We cannot avoid pointing at other entities because according to the law, we cannot build a dam. Only Zinwa is mandated to do that. Council cannot even drill a borehole in the city. We have produced plans to exploit water from aquifers and it is up to Zinwa to take them up,” she said.
Mrs Zhou said residents who did not have their refuse collected were those who did not put their bins outside on garbage collection days.

Council officials stated that residents had a problem of not attending meetings in which decisions that affected them were made.
Mrs Zifudzi invited residents who felt that their grievances were not heard to send them in writing to the CTC before 21 days from yesterday’s meeting, before declaring it closed.