adminIn an interview, Mr Ndimande said normally during the last week of the month, the local authority collects about$220 000 per day, but in the four days of the strike only $280 000 was collected.
He said the local authority got an average of $4,1 million per month, but this month it is estimated that it would get $3,1 million.
“On Thursday, we collected an estimated $80 000, which was better than Tuesday, when about $54 000 was collected,” said Mr Ndimande.
He said ratepayers thought the Revenue Hall was closed during the four-day strike hence the decline in revenue collected.
“Ratepayers thought that since there was a strike, the Revenue Hall was closed. We were open and working with cashiers in the rates department.
In the high-density suburbs there were a few housing offices that were open despite the strike, so we managed to collect something from there. There are also other ratepayers that pay through banks,” said Mr Ndimande.
The workers who have not been paid for three months now, downed tools on Monday to press management to pay them their outstanding salaries.
The four-day strike crippled service delivery in the city with scores of HIV patients failing to access medication because a majority of clinics were not operational.
The strike, which many believe was wrongly timed, was an embarrassment to the nation as workers decided to strike during the Trade Fair week when a number of foreign dignitaries and business persons were in the country to attend the fair.
Workers on Thursday called off their strike, saying they were now taking the issue to the Labour Court.
The Trade Fair, which started in the city on Tuesday, ends today.
Online Reporter