Discord at Town House

zones covering blocks of suburbs.
Under this system, each standard plot, empty or built on in each zone, attracts the same rate.
Owners of vast vacant plots will pay a lot more than they were paying before the introduction of the system.
The fallout between the mayor and the town clerk has resulted in council issuing contradictory statements to ratepayers.
Senior officials at Town House last week said they took instructions from Dr Mahachi and not from Mr Masunda who is the city’s ceremonial mayor.
But Mr Masunda insists that he is in charge and expressed fears that Dr Mahachi was taking orders from elsewhere other than from him.
The rift manifested itself when councillors approved the zone billing system, which was inexplicably reversed by some functionaries without going back to council.
Current bills to residents notify of the change of policy.
“Please take note that council has reversed the zone billing system which was effected on 1 January 2011 and reverted to the Land, Improvement and Supplementary charge billing system.
“Monthly charges which had been raised for the months of January to March 2011 have been adjusted accordingly,” reads a statement on the bills.
Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Minister Ignatius Chombo and Mr Masunda previously have clashed on the issue with the mayor justifying the zone billing system.
Minister Chombo is on record as saying his role, as Government Minister, was to protect residents against the excesses of local authorities.
The residents have also protested the billing system, which affected ratepayers who earn meagre salaries. Even under the old rating system, some residents were failing to pay, raising questions as to how council expected them to cope with the new system.
Council had, since January, been charging rates using the zoning system with Mr Masunda arguing that the new system would greatly affect those individuals speculatively holding onto massive tracts of land.
Despite council issuing a notice to residents indicating that it was now using the land and improvements system to charge rates, Mr Masunda last week maintained that residents should pay under the zoning system.
“The city treasurer made representations to me (on zoning) and it made much sense to me. It is also in compliance with section 252 of the Urban Councils Act,” he said.
Mr Masunda said the decision to use the zoning system was reached after consultations with the town clerk and other senior council officials.
“I have not lost control at Town House. We agreed that we were to charge on the new basis (zoning). Somebody must have prevailed upon the town clerk and unfortunately a conflicting message is being conveyed to residents.
“My instructions were that we were going to use the zoning system. Residents should go back to the zoning system as the Urban Council Act entitles us to bill on that basis,” Mr Masunda said.
Following a day-long meeting with heads of departments last week, Dr Mahachi, however, said the zoning system would be effected this month.
“We have now corrected the situation. The zoning system would begin this month,” he said.
He, however, could not be drawn into disclosing why there were conflicting statements on the matter.
Council expects to collect US$12 million a month up from US$8 million in residential rates and almost all the extra money will come from owners of vacant land and from land speculators.
Harare Residents Trust co-ordinator Mr Precious Shumba blasted the city for reversing the zone billing system saying the about turn “was a backward step in finding alternative ways of financing council operations”.
He said the zone billing system had potential to raise money for the city to fund housing development, road repairs, salaries and administration costs.
“The system was aimed at compelling holders of vast tracts of land to either subdivide it for resale or develop it for income generating purposes which would sustain the new rates. This would have eased the financial burden on struggling residents in poorer suburbs, who occupy a single residential plot but have been burdened with high service delivery bills to finance council activities,” he said.