Rates’ boycott call riles mayor

spokesman Mr Leslie Gwindi over calls for residents to boycott paying rates.
HRT co-ordinator Mr Precious Shu-mba is urging residents to boycott rates.
He is sending e-mails and addressing public gatherings, to this end.
The HRT says rates should not be paid until the High Court determines the legality of Harare’s 2011 budget.
HRT says residents with outstanding bills from 2009 should not pay arrears until the court case is finalised.
“In the meantime, residents are urged to pay at most US$15 for all rates, including water, garbage and supplementary charges.
“Because of the unrepentant attitude of the City of Harare, residents in their numbers are urged to make court applications demanding compensation from the City of Harare for the damage on their vehicles due to the many potholes on their roads.”
Mr Masunda has shot back saying Mr Shumba “is blissfully ignorant of what it takes to run a complex and diverse metropolis like Harare”.
“He is slowly but surely becoming a rebel without a cause”.
Mr Masunda suggested that Mr Shu-mba – with journalism background – should instead join the city’s public relations department.
“What he desperately needs is a job in the public relations division of the town clerk’s department where he will do very well given his strong media background.
“A rates boycott would not only be retrogressive but also counterproductive.
“In our ongoing quest to get our city, and indeed our country firing on all cylinders, it would be utter folly for citizens of Harare to in effect cut their noses to spite their own faces,” he said.
But Mr Shumba is having none of it.
“These attacks demonstrate what we have always said about the personnel running the City of Harare – a shallow mentality that personalises development issues.
“There is need to appreciate that for the city to develop there is need to move away from a desk-centred or blueprint approach which discourages citizen participation in development issues and in formulating policies that concern them.”
He said Mr Masunda should investigate why the majority of residents – the city’s core source of funding – are failing to fully pay for services.
Mr Shumba said investigations by his association have shown that Harare has 1,5 million ratable properties in the high and low-density areas.
“If going by our calculations, every household pays US$15 for all rates and services every month, this would translate to US$22,5 million – treble what they currently get in monthly revenue, said to be around US$7 million.
“If we add the CBD, heavy and light industrial areas and the Avenues, where rates are higher, the city is guaranteed another US$20 million which would make total monthly revenue of US$40,5 million.
“This money would significantly address the issues of the dilapidated water and sewer reticulation infrastructure, refuse collection, road maintenance and other pertinent service delivery issues.”
Mr Gwindi believes Mr Shumba should not be taken seriously as he is advocating anarchy by telling people – among other things – to reconnect themselves when the city disconnects their water for non-payment.
“Such action is irresponsible. If HRT is doing so, the city will take legal action. They want to destroy all our achievements. In fact they are trying to justify their donor budgets by making unnecessary noise.”