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Mash West Bureau
Chinhoyi Municipality has declared war on debtors who continue enjoying its services without paying for them.
Council management is seeking to improve service provision to residents and ratepayers.
The municipality is owed over $40 million, a development that has affected service provision with the local authority failing to provide continuous water supplies producing 22 mega litres against a daily target of 30 mega litres.
The municipality, which has also applied to be accorded city status, has been struggling to pay its workers amid reports that council was negotiating with employees to clear an arbitration award running into millions of dollars.
In an interview at Town House recently, town clerk Mr Maxwell Kaitano said most of their problems were due to outstanding monies owed to council by residents and ratepayers.
“We have been very magnanimous with the residents and ratepayers, even offering their concessions and promotions where we were offering 50 percent discounts.
“This has not achieved anything so we are forced to take drastic measures against those that are in default. We are very serious about that so we now want that which belongs to us,” he declared.
Council, he said, was owed more money for service provided than the money they owe their employees.
“If we can recoup the $40 million we are owed we can easily pay our workers whom we owe around $1,2 million that’s why we have been doing promotions, but we realised that our customers do not take us seriously,” he said.
Mr Kaitano said the Chinhoyi Municipality would also take defaulters to court and attach properties.
“We have even received wise counsel from our minister (Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister July Moyo) who challenged us to use statutory provisions to recover the money.
“He said we could even engage debt collectors because we cannot keep silent when there are people who owe us a lot of money.”
Chinhoyi Municipality recently had an out-of-court settlement with power utility Zesa, which had attached some of its properties due to outstanding electricity bills.
Online Reporter