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Gibson Mhaka
BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) councillors have raised concern over “inaccuracies” in the local authority’s billing system, which have resulted in some ratepayers receiving exorbitant bills.
According to the latest council minutes Ward 18 Councillor Felix Takunda Madzana raised the issue of residents complaining about high bills.
He said the billing system, which has been debated numerous times, has yet to be corrected.
“Councillor F T Madzana raised concern about the continued high bills being sent to residents. Residents were complaining about such high bills. “The billing system had not been corrected despite being debated upon time and again. He urged Council to come up with an accurate billing system,” the minutes read in part.
Ward 3 Cllr Mxolisi Mahlangu advocated for investigating all instances of high bills.
He said residents also voiced concerns about the slow processing of online payments, which resulted in outstanding account balances despite making payments.
Mayor Senator David Coltart, emphasised the need for a serious investigation into the issue of excessive bills.
He called for the council website to clearly outline standard charges for each area and for improvements to the electronic billing system.
In response, the Chairperson of the Finance and Development Committee, Cllr Mpumelelo Moyo encouraged fellow councillors to submit samples of excessively high bills for review and discussion.
“Estimation of meter readings due to various resource constraints may result in huge bills. In order to get accurate bills he proposed the use of smart meters. Residents also contributed to the huge bills by not paying to Council,” explained Cllr Moyo.
He urged residents to pay their bills on time preferably in USD.
“On the issue of unaccredited bills, these were unidentified deposits reflecting in Council Bank accounts. Residents were encouraged to quote proper account numbers.
“Electronic Platform was in place but the intake was slow. There was a need to teach the residents on how to use the platform.
“Also council need to engage the banks relating information required when paying bills to Council,” suggested Cllr Moyo.
Online Reporter