adminWe say this against the background of heated arguments in council on Wednesday where some councillors went to the extent of disowning a budget that they approved only a few months ago. If that is not dishonesty of the highest order then it must rank quite high on the scale of naivety. In an article we carried yesterday some councillors said they were against increases in service charges after the Mayor warned that the council would adopt a tough stance on defaulters so that it could improve service provision.
“This year we are going to do the unusual. . . . Everyone must pay for the services rendered. We will not mince our words any longer. From now onwards there should be no excuse for failing to deliver,” said the Mayor, Councillor Thaba Moyo.
While we understand the councillors’ call for leniency with ratepayers, we doubt their sincerity as regards alleviating the residents’ plight since many of these councillors have not urged the people they represent to work out payment plans with council as a show of commitment. The economy is not in the best shape but council has to provide a service and the few residents who are paying are having to shoulder the responsibility of running the huge council leading to poor service delivery.
It is our view that if residents make payment plans and pay the little they have it would make a big difference. For instance if all residents pay a minimum of $5 a month, 200 000 of them would easily raise $1 million that would go a long way towards meeting costs of running council.
If councillors play politics and discourage residents from settling their bills it will come back to haunt them when service delivery deteriorates further as the very residents who are not paying would turn against the city fathers and allege poor administration.
The council is owed at least $60 million by residents, the Government and business and this figure cannot be wished away. The council should use persuasion to recover the money but where this fails, punitive measures should be visited upon defaulters.
As residents and ratepayers it is important that we make paying for council services a priority instead of spending money on luxuries and then claiming not to have money to pay for water and refuse removal. The best way to put council to the test is to meet our side of the bargain as residents and then leave the challenge to council to provide services that are in line with our payments.
Council has promised to improve service provision and we can only start auditing how it fares on that commitment once we start paying the little we have and we should be careful not to be used by councillors seeking popularity who will discourage us from paying but then disappear after elections when our water is cut and our houses closed.
Online Reporter