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decision to charge US$200 to give defaulters payment plans to clear their arrears.
Harare City Council was demanding that residents, who owe council huge amounts, pay US$200 first before agreeing on payment plans with council.
The residents said the decision was discouraging them from clearing their debts.
They also complained about the city’s flawed billing system and the 10 percent interest council was charging on overdue accounts.
This, the residents said, meant limited revenue to council and compromised the already “poor” service delivery.
A payment plan should be a free service that assists ratepayers in settling their debts, the residents argued.
Some of the residents’ bills continued to rise despite them clearing their arrears while others claimed their metres stopped working long back but they were still receiving bills with high amounts.
Council spokesperson Mr Leslie Gwindi admitted the city’s billing system was in shambles.
“We have always stated that it takes time before deductions are made but the money will be reduced,” said Mr Gwindi in an interview last Thursday.
“If they pay at district offices, the information will be fed to the head office after a while because of poor machinery but if it has been long since they paid, such residents should visit our finance offices for help.
“Payment plans are calculated according to the debt of the resident and we still encourage them to visit our offices.”
Residents, who spoke to The Herald said instead of the US$200, they should be allowed to pay any amount they could raise.
A Kuwadzana resident Mr Tafara Dhewa said it did not make sense for council to demand US$200 saying the move will make people revolt against the local authority.
“It is better for council to at least collect something than getting nothing. They have blamed poor service delivery on low revenue and how do they expect to raise more money when they are being hard on the payment plans,” he said.
Others said while the city billing system was in total “mess”, they were living in fear of losing property over failure to pay water and refuse rates.
Another resident said: “I paid US$100 in October and was left with a balance of US$343 but last month the bill had ballooned to US$548. I don’t know when this will end but we are being fleeced of our hard earned cash.”
Mr Daniel Guzha of Glen Norah said his water metre stopped working two years ago but he was still receiving high bills.
“I rely on borehole water and I wonder where these charges are coming from. They should be realistic,” he said.
Harare Residents Trust advocacy and communications officer Ms Tariro Manhendere said: “Even the 10 percent they are charging on overdue accounts should be removed because it means the amounts owed will continue rising with no one settling them.”
Harare is owed more than US$273 million in unpaid water bills, rates and supplementary charges.
Online Reporter