Chronicle Editor
Patrick Chitumba – [email protected]
TENSIONS are running high in Gweru as exasperated residents have expressed dismay over what they believe are inflated water bills. Some of them have been slapped with jaw-dropping water bills reaching a staggering $1,6 million, far surpassing their usual monthly charges of $66 000 for the month of June.
The local authority is now facing scathing criticism for contemplating the implementation of prepaid water meters as a means to improve rate collection. Residents are alleging that meter readings have been abandoned in favour of unreliable estimations.
The surge in water bills has become a perennial issue, leaving residents perturbed by the paradox of astronomical monthly charges while grappling with chronic water shortages. Mr Tryon Mutisi, accustomed to bills ranging between $30 000 to $40 000, expressed bewilderment upon receiving a $220 005 bill for the end of June.
“I paid every month, even during the lockdown. I did have an outstanding amount of about $10 000 but that does not explain the new bill. I do not know where this amount comes from. The meter reading was incorrectly captured during May, and after numerous attempts to get it corrected, this has not happened,” he said.
Despite diligently settling her bills over two decades, one anonymous resident was served with a mind-boggling $1,6 million bill.
“By my calculation, my bill was at least 70 percent more than my usual bill in June. I understand the rates were supposed to be calculated at the prevailing interbank rate but this time I think they are using black market rate,” she said.
Mr Mark Skhosana accused the local authority of ripping ratepayers and residents off.
“The council is ripping us off because I am always up to date but this bill of $300 000 is just astronomical, it’s out of this world. Some residents have been served with demand letters,” he said.
Outraged residents have accused the local authority of taking advantage of them, leading to demands for an explanation from City Council officials.
The Gweru Residents Trust chairman, Mr Antony Madzivanyika, stated that numerous complaints from disgruntled residents have been received, but responses from the council have been notably absent.
“Residents are complaining about high water bills. Some have written to the council, but have not gotten responses and they want an explanation,” he said.
Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association director Mr Cornelius Selipiwe blamed the city council for relying on estimates.
“Our local authority has not done anything in terms of rectifying issues to do with estimates. For the month of June that was number one, they were estimating and after that they calculated using parallel market rates instead of the official interbank rate. They were using $1: $7 500 when the official rate was around $1: $4 700,” he said.
Mr Selipiwe said there is a need for residents and council to work together in terms of having functioning water meters.
“So basically we need massive removal of malfunctioning water meters in the city. They had this promotion where they asked residents to buy functioning water meters whose amount will be deducted from the monthly bills. But the challenge is that the process is not fast and has a lot of challenges. So we have a lot of challenges affecting billing as well as water availability,” he said.
In response to these mounting concerns, Ms Vimbai Chingwaramusee, the council spokesperson, confirmed the occurrence of high bills, attributing them to the prevailing interbank rate at the time of billing.
“Billing is raised between 20 to 23 of every month at the conclusion of our meter reading cycle. To be specific June billing was raised on the 21st of June 2023 at that date the rate was at $6 926. The auction rate started going down after our billing,” she said.
She reassured residents that any reduction in the rate of the local currency against the United States dollar would be reflected in future bills, potentially providing some relief.
“If rates continue to drop that good will only be realised on the July billing which will use the rates between 20 to 23 July 2023 (billing dates),” she said.
Ms Chingwaramusee said council was not going to charge in foreign currency.
“We are not allowed to charge in USD. Our approved budget was pegged in USD. We bill in USD and convert the bill to ZWL using the prevailing bank rate of the billing day,” she said.
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