admin
THE decision by local authorities countrywide, including the Bulawayo City Council to embark on a massive water disconnection exercise in a bid to punish defaulting ratepayers is a sad and inhuman development that should be roundly condemned.The exercise, besides being insensitive to the needs of the people, is in our view diabolical and indicative that the people whom we think are City Fathers have nothing fatherly about them. Instead they are selfish leaders who do not have the welfare of the residents at heart as they derive a lot of satisfaction from the suffering of the already burdened residents.
Our sister paper, Chronicle yesterday carried a story where it was reported that a number of local authorities countrywide, including the Bulawayo City Council, have started disconnecting water from defaulting ratepayers, after the Harare City Council appealed against a High Court decision declaring the practice unconstitutional.
The order, which municipalities are disregarding pending a Supreme Court ruling, compelled all councils to seek court orders before cutting off supplies.
In Bulawayo, the Mayor, Councillor Martin Moyo, who is also the president of the Urban Councils’ Association of Zimbabwe (UCAZ) confirmed that they have intensified disconnections in a bid to recover more than $90 million that had accumulated in a space of one year, following the writing-off of about $50 million that had accrued from 2009 to 2013.
Clr Moyo in his own words said the Bulawayo City Council was taking advantage of the Harare City Council appeal, which he said automatically suspended the High Court order.
However, the chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local Government, Cde Irene Zindi, said the disconnection of water was a sign of arrogance on the part of local authorities. She said the local authorities should consider that the matter is already before the courts and local authorities should lead by example and abide by the law.
We totally agree with Cde Zindi that what the local authorities are doing is a sign of arrogance of the highest order, which should be nipped in the bud. While we are appreciative of the fact that the residents should pay their bills, there is a need for the local authorities to take into consideration the current economic challenges that the people are saddled with. Thousands of people have lost their jobs and those who have kept them, the companies are struggling to pay, so the residents are in a Catch 22 situation.
It is against this background that we call on the local authorities to stop acting on impulse, which borders on meting out unwarranted punishment on the residents by cutting off water supplies. We believe it would be in the interest of both parties if the local authorities continue encouraging residents to come up with payment plans as part of efforts to settle the bills. The residents associations should also be roped in to encourage their members to approach councils and at the same time drumming up the message that council services are not for free.
It is also insensitive for the councils to disconnect water in January, a point noted by the Bulawayo United Residents’ Association (Bura) chairman, Winos Dube, who rightly said it is one of the most difficult months for a majority of residents.
Online Reporter