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Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) is encouraging ratepayers to adopt the use of digital platforms for payment of bills saying it is more convenient than physically visiting revenue halls.
The call, however, comes amid concerns from residents that the City Council has done little to ensure that its digital payment platforms are connected to the main system for fast reflection of payments to avoid the inconvenience of services being cut off when they have paid.
According to the City Council, only 31 percent of June payments were done online and council has been working on increasing the number of centres from where people are expected to pay.
BCC Corporate Communications Manager Mrs Nesisa Mpofu said ratepayers were still used to physical payment methods as compared to online payments, ignoring the flexibility of online payments such as mobile money transfers and bank transfers.
“In the month of June 2023, online platform payments constituted 31 percent of the total receipts. The physical (traditional) mode is the most popular as ratepayers still want physical receipts as proof of payment. We encourage our ratepayers to embrace the available online payment platforms to avoid queuing at the Revenue Offices,” said Mrs Mpofu.
In January, 7 112 online payments worth $190 million were made while in February 7 936 payments were made, bringing in over $ 231 million. A total of 8 045 payments were made online in June totalling close to 580 million in revenue.
Mrs Mpofu, however, said the city was introducing additional physical billing points in various areas in Bulawayo in a bid to ensure ratepayers have adequate access points to pay their bills.
“The city will be opening a payment point at its Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) Pavilion stand and is working on opening another payment point in Emganwini and other areas so as to bring convenience to residents. This will address the issue of proximity and accessibility to residents and all these points will be available to the public as soon as they are complete.
This is expected to improve convenience and increase the city`s revenue collections,” she said.
Ratepayers have said they were facing challenges with other revenue offices dotted around the city and the online platform as a whole as services were not in sync with the main offices.
“I paid through EcoCash for six months. They came and disconnected services and I had to fork a lot of money for reconnection only to be told there was a mistake in my billing and I did not owe them. There is a need for a system that is transparent when it comes to online payments.
“Another resident told me that she started going all the way to pay in town when her water was cut off for non-payment. She had been faithfully paying in one of the suburban ones and was told it had not been updated. She, therefore, resolved to pay in town,” said one resident.
Ms Tarisai Mushava said the online system was a bit problematic.
“I think we need to fix issues of trust in the online systems. On several occasions, people have had problems after making payments online. There is a need for a system that allows people to confirm receipt to the council after paying via EcoCash.
Maybe checking my council balance at home from my phone. Then I know that my online payment went through. This seems to be the root cause for people to opt for the longer way of doing things,” she said.
Those living in the western suburbs also cried foul saying many revenue offices have excuses when they attempt to make payments citing either connectivity or electricity challenges. —@NyembeziMu
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