adminAccording to a report by the chamber secretary’s department, the Town Clerk, Mr Middleton Nyoni, reported that during a general purposes committee meeting on 28 May, Clr Moyo said taking legal action against defaulters should stop with immediate effect.
The issue divided councillors with a majority supporting management’s position to continue taking legal action against defaulters.
Councillors agreed that a report on the process should be submitted.
“His worship the Mayor raised concern over the process of litigation. It was his opinion that the process of litigation was now being misinterpreted thereby tarnishing the image of council and that there was a need to stop it with immediate effect,” reads the report.
The department argued that it was not wise to suspend legal action for the recovery of debts as it was the only option that could be used to recover outstanding rates.
“Litigation is the last resort. All accounts below $2 000 are dealt with internally and the rest are sent to law firms within the city,” reads the report.
Section 281 of the Urban Councils Act empowers local authorities to institute legal proceedings for non-payment of rates but it is illegal to disconnect water supplies over non-payment of rates.
“Suspending legal proceedings will encourage people to pay the water account and ignore rates because they will be fully aware of the fact that you cannot do anything to them.
Litigation is a necessary back-up tool because disconnection only stops further consumption but it does not take care of what has already been consumed,” reads the report.
According to the report most accounts taken to lawyers were for rates.
The report notes that residents of high-density suburbs were now relying on boreholes such that even if they got disconnected, this did not compel them to pay.
The chamber secretary’s department explained that if councillors decided to stop legal action, it would be impossible to implement the decision at once.
“In the event that council decides against litigation, the committee should be aware that it is not possible to stop forthwith because there are a lot of accounts that were sent to lawyers and a lot of pending processes from within that will cost council dearly if we abort the process. These pending processes may take us up to the end of this year or beginning of next year to be finalised,” reads the report.
According to the council procedure, consumers are first issued a letter of demand for what they owe and given seven days to pay or make arrangements to clear the debt over a period of time.
“A payment plan suspends the litigation process while ignoring it will cause the issuing of summons.
The debtor can then pay within seven days or make payment arrangements to stop the process.
Ignoring the summons, served by a messenger of court, would result in one appearing in court.
In the event of a person failing to appear in court, council would be forced to apply for a default judgement.
“If the whole debt is paid, we suspend the process and if there is a partial payment, we again suspend the process and call the debtor in for payment arrangements for the outstanding amount. However, if there is no payment we send the writ to the messenger of court for execution,” the report reads.
“The messenger of court is a professional in his own right and we do not tell him or her what to attach,” reads the report.
The report shows that attached property is not immediately auctioned and one could make arrangements to clear the debt, which would result in release of the property back to its owner, as auction is the last resort.
The latest council report shows that the majority of councillors after deliberating on the issue of debtors, voted against suspending lawsuits to recover debts.
It was then resolved that the litigation process should be upheld but as the last resort.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter