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The residents have not been receiving water for many years and only started receiving water at night about two months ago.
They have, however, been receiving their water and supplementary charges statements despite numerous efforts to engage the council to stop sending the bills.
Placard-waving residents staged a demonstration at the Town House before they attempted to besiege the office of the Town Clerk, Mr Daniel Matawu.
They were denied entry by council security officers who had to use batons to scare them away.
In an interview after the demonstration, Mr Luke Kudita who was leading the group of residents said the protests were against the council’s continuous sending of bills despite the suburb going for years without water.
“We have been without water for years in Mkoba Village 19 but the council did not stop sending us bills. We tried to engage them so that they stop sending us the bills to no avail. The council appeared to have understood our position earlier but we were all surprised when it continued charging us for a service that we do not have,” he said.
Mr Kudita said the suburb was still receiving erratic water supplies despite promises by the local authority to address the problem.
“At the moment we only receive water between 12 mid-night and 3am but we continue to receive huge bills as if we are getting normal supplies,” he said.
Another protester, Mrs Rejoice Chanhuwa, accused the local authority of failing to address the water problem in Mkoba Village 19 for years.
“As women we are the most affected because we spend most of the time at home and you can imagine cracking the head every day and making sure that we fetch water from alternative sources to sustain the house for all these years. It’s so painful,” she said.
Gweru Deputy Mayor Councillor Taurai Demo confirmed Mkoba Village 19’s perennial water problems.
“We have explained many times to the residents in Mkoba 19 that what they have been receiving are bills for rates and not water. The fact is the residents have not been receiving water owing to low pumping capacity. This, however, does not mean they do not have to pay their rates. Refuse collection is being done as well as road maintenance and these are the services which they are paying for,” he said.
Clr Demo said the council was working on improving water supplies in Mkoba 19.
“We bought two new pumps to improve the city water supply and the council is going to mount those new pumps to improve water supplies in Mkoba 19 and the Gweru city as a whole,” he said.
Clr Demo said the majority of Mkoba 19 residents were aware of the council position and were paying their tariffs.
“Those 25 people who came to the Town House to make noise might be pushing their own agenda because Mkoba 19 does not consist of only 25 households. The majority, who did not come to council, have their bills paid up,” he said.
Online Reporter