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Abel Zhakata Senior Reporter
MUTARE City Council is headed for a legal battle with ratepayers who are dragging their feet to clear arrears with the local authority amid reports that the debt has ballooned to $30 million.
Despite receiving demand letters from the municipality’s debt collectors, Mangwana and Partners, households and businesses are struggling to pay up.
Finance director, Mr Lloyd Musasa, said the debt collectors would be forced to attach defaulters’ property if they snub to clear areas.
He said only a few households and businesses served with the demand letters have made efforts to pay up.
“Only a small proportion of entities that owe council are coming to pay their dues and such a scenario leaves the debt collectors with no option but to attach property. We don’t want to take that route as a local authority but in circumstances like these sterner measures need to be applied to make people pay.
“Each month we bill about $1, 7million, but we are only collecting about $800 000 which leaves us with an unpaid balance of close to a million. What it means is that the amount that council is owed by ratepayers is increasing with a monthly margin of $1 million and this explains why the figures has rose to close to $30 million,” he said.
Mr Musasa said he was yet to receive figures of how much had been mopped up by the debt collection exercise which began on October 12.
“When I have the exact figures I will be in a position to quantify the exact percentage that has been recovered to date, but like I said the figures are not pleasing, people must pay up,” he said.
Town Clerk, Mr Obert Muzawazi, said the prevailing financial bottlenecks had greatly affected service delivery.
“We are struggling to pay workers because there is no money. This results in low worker morale. We have noted that some people have not paid a cent since dollarisation despite extending an olive branch to defaulters to clear their debts,” he said.
Interviewed residents and businesses said the local authority was charging high figures for services rendered.
They said the current rate charges were too high and unsustainable.
“Prices of goods and services are going down but the local authority is adamant maintaining its rates at high prices. People don’t have money and how do you expect us to pay $20 for water each month. Ratepayers are ignoring bills because the charges are high. More so litter is not being collected regularly and you expect to be paid. What embarrasses us is that our input in the ongoing rates consultation process is not taken into consideration yet we are the ones who pay the bills. They should listen to us when we tell them that their services are expensive. You can’t squeeze water from a stone,” said Mr Alex Muringa from Dangamvura.
Some said acute water supplies in most suburbs have frustrated residents to the point of boycotting rates payment. Some locations go for weeks without water supplies owing to a dilapidated and aged conveyance system that is failing to cater for the growing population.
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