adminIn an interview on Wednesday, Clr Chakabuda said the local authority was cash-strapped and appealed to debtors to pay up.
According to a recent council report, the general purpose committee entrusted to oversee the collection of outstanding debts noted that many were debtors not paying their bills.
Councillors suggested that the ity treasurer, Ms Thandiwe Dube, be involved in the debt collection process for effective follow-ups to be made.
“We are in a financial crisis and we are failing to provide services to the residents as per their expectations. We are owed about $8 million in unpaid rates and rentals.
“We appeal to residents, Government departments and all our debtors to start paying in order for us to be able to improve service delivery,” said Ald Chakabuda.
He said the council had decided to engage all debtors to encourage them to honour debts as a matter of urgency.
However, he was quick to say he would not divulge how much each client owed the local authority.
“We will continue talking to them and we don’t want to take legal action like what some people have suggested.
“We respect all our debtors because they are our clients and we will not divulge the exact amount each client owes the local authority since we are bound to keep information to do with financial matters confidential,” he said.
Ald Chakabuda expressed optimism that council will recover the money owed.
“Those who owe us have not shown unwillingness to pay. That shows that they are prepared to pay up.
“We will continue holding discussions with them on the issue without resorting to the courts because we want them to remain our clients,” he said.
Meanwhile, the local authority is in a quandary over the missing transfer of $365 000 from the Ministry of Finance. The ministry, according to the report, was yet to ascertain the whereabouts of the funds.
Online Reporter