Council extends rates promotion

Senior Reporter
CASH-strapped Mutare City Council has extended its rates payment promotion by a month as the local authority struggles to recover more than $25 million it is owed by defaulting ratepayers.Mayor, Councillor Tatenda Nhamarare, revealed this week that the promotion which was supposed to end this month will roll over to June.

“The promotion has been extended as we devise ways to make people pay. If council gets something we will be able to efficiently service the city and improve living standards,” he said.

Town Clerk, Mr Obert Muzawazi said the promotion was meant to make people settle their debts with the local authority.

He said this is an opportunity for those with huge debts to clear their arrears before council takes defaulters to court.

“We encourage people to pay and this olive branch is rare to come by. Ratepayers must know that the local authority needs to be paid to enable us to provide services.”

The once-off special promotion applies to residents and church organisations who will have their rates cleared once they pay half of the amount they owe the local authority.

Industrial and commercial entities are not covered by the promotion.

Clr Nhamarare said a full council resolution okayed the promotion which is meant to raise revenue for salaries as well as improve service delivery in the city.

He said for customers who were paying their accounts timeously and whose accounts were up to date as at March 31, they will be awarded a credit of 50 percent of their monthly bills over a period of two months from April 1.

Although a total of $23 million was scrapped by Government in 2013, defaulters now owe the local authority $25 million as at January this year.

The figure is rising.

“Salaries are our biggest headache. We need to pay our employees to remain operational. Talk of efficient service delivery needs money, of which that money comes from rates.

“We agreed with the Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs, Cde Mandi Chimene on this promotion as a way to cushion people in the wake of the liquidity crunch in the country,” said Mr Muzawazi.