Andrew
Veronica Gwaze
HARARE City Council (HCC) is engaging private debt collectors to recover $5 billion in unpaid rates.
“We will soon deploy debt collectors to collect all outstanding amounts. The best thing is to arrange for a payment plan now,” warned HCC in a statement.
The local authority has since sent letters of final demand to residents, and is also in the process of disconnecting defaulting ratepayers.
“We are going to take legal action on all ratepayers who are in arrears with the local authority.”
However, ratepayers feel they are being treated unfairly, arguing they are not receiving the services that are billed.
More than 5 000 residents recently signed a petition expressing concerns over the newly gazetted rates, which have seen most ratepayers owing council between $2 000 and $10 000.
According to HCC’s current budget, an average high-density household is required to pay $1 736 a month for basic services, while a household in medium-density suburbs is expected to fork out $4 558.
Online Reporter