Online Reporter
Patrick Chitumba, [email protected]
GWERU City Council is grappling with a severe financial crunch after residents and ratepayers accumulated more than ZiG860 million in unpaid rates and service charges, a development that is crippling the local authority’s ability to deliver basic services.
Speaking during a full council meeting on Friday, Gweru mayor Councillor Martin Chivhoko said the growing debt burden is exerting immense pressure on council operations, with service delivery and infrastructure maintenance bearing the brunt.
“Residents and ratepayers now owe the local authority about ZiG860 million in unpaid rates and service charges. This situation is severely constraining the council’s ability to deliver essential services,” he said.
Providing clarity on arrears linked to water services, Chamber Secretary Mr Owen Masimba said part of the debt involves a long-standing billing arrangement with the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) for institutions located outside the city’s boundaries.
These include major institutions such as Midlands State University (MSU) and Whawha Prison.
“Under this arrangement, Gweru City Council bills Zinwa for water supplied to these institutions, while Zinwa in turn bills the institutions and is expected to remit the city’s portion upon payment,” said Mr Masimba.
However, he said while Zinwa has been receiving payments — either directly or through set-offs — the council’s share has not been fully remitted, leaving Zinwa owing the City of Gweru close to ZiG50 million.
“The institutions themselves do not owe council directly, as they settle their accounts with Zinwa in terms of the agreed framework. The outstanding amount is therefore owed by Zinwa,” he said.
Mr Masimba said council has since engaged its legal practitioners to pursue the matter.
“A round-table meeting was held in December last year, where Zinwa undertook to initiate repayments, but progress has been minimal. We continue to assess the sincerity of these commitments,” he said.
Mr Masimba warned that council may be forced to take legal action if there is no meaningful movement.
He also highlighted broader revenue collection challenges, particularly involving entities under judicial management, where legal protections restrict enforcement.
“Some debtors are legally protected, meaning we cannot take action despite significant arrears. These amounts remain on our books, but recovery options are limited,” said Mr Masimba.
He added that while smaller debts are handled through magistrates’ courts, large debt recovery cases fall under the High Court, making the process lengthy.
“Improving revenue collection remains a top priority, as the city continues to face financial pressures that directly affect service delivery to residents,” said Mr Masimba.
derick.khumalo