RTC battles to recover $245m

Lovemore Kadzura
Rusape Correspondent

RUSAPE Town Council has resolved to employ aggressive means to recover a staggering $245 million it is being owed by defaulting ratepayers and businesses.

According to the town chairman, Councillor Lyton Sithole, some residents have gone for over two years without honouring their obligations despites receiving daily services.

“As at August 31, residents and ratepayers owe the council $245 219 000. We have been using persuasive means to get what is due to us, but the response is not encouraging at all. Residents are the majority with outstanding bills. Some have gone for over two years without remitting a single cent to council.

“We are working on modalities that will help us to get what is due to us. Council is trying its best to provide services under a difficult operating environment, and we expect residents to play their part. We are failing to provide some of the required services because of lack of resources and if residents pay up, this will go a long way in improving service delivery in Rusape,” he said.

Councillor Sithole added that funding from Government helped the local authority to oil their operations and acquire vital equipment.

“The 2021 budget performed well because we received a substantial injection from Government. We have so far received $15 million as devolution funds and $22 million from Zimbabwe National Road Authority.

“We have purchased a tipper and a front-end loader. We are now targeting to purchase a grader. This year, we were mainly focusing on Information Communication and Technology and all our departments are now ICT compliant.

“All our roads are now trafficable due to the cash injection from ZINARA. We managed to rehabilitate some roads which were last attended decades ago,” he said.

Turning to the 2022 budget, Councillor Sithole said they were prioritising water infrastructure and public lightning.

Some residential areas are going for days with dry taps due to constant breakdowns at the water works.

“The proposed 2022 budget is mainly focusing on upgrading water infrastructure in the town. We will institute a study to find out whether the town requires new water pipes or it is the distributing channels that need improvement. We will also try to ascertain whether we need additional reservoir tanks or not. We are planning to install solar lights in all our streets, said Councillor Sithole.