adminSukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
TRADITIONAL leaders in Bulilima District and the local authority have agreed to exempt extremely vulnerable households within the district from paying development levies.
Bulilima Rural District Council recently engaged chiefs and headmen in a bid to improve the collection of rates from villagers. Chiefs are set to summon defaulting rate payers within the district to their courts to ensure that they meet their obligations.
Speaking during a meeting to review the collection of rates, Headman Hikwa noted that there were child headed families in the district living in extreme poverty and were not able to raise money for rates.
“We’ve orphaned children within the district who survive on food handouts and they can’t afford to pay the development levy. At the same time we’ve very old people who are looking after orphans.
“It would seem proper if these people can be exempted from paying the development levy as they are hardly managing to secure food to eat,” she said.
Bulilima Rural District Council chief executive officer, John Brown Ncube, said vulnerable households can be exempted on condition that there is strict vetting of beneficiaries.
He said a number of households were failing to pay council because of the prevailing economic hardships. He said some of them could not be exempted from making payments.
Ncube noted that there were several wards within the district that were owing council and urged traditional leaders to make follow ups within their villages.
Villagers in Bulilima owe council $337,009 for development levy fees for the year 2015. The local authority is this year expected to collect $157,437 from development levy payments and villagers have managed to collect $14,362 from the period extending from January to May.
derick.khumalo