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RESIDENTS of Victoria Falls Town said they were against a decision by council to levy them $20 which it says is meant to raise money to buy a refuse truck.
Residents said they were shocked to find exorbitant bills for the month of May and accused the council of fleecing them.
Some said they were not aware they should pay such an amount and accused the local authority of ambushing them without consultation. However, council authorities said residents agreed to pay the amount during budget consultative meetings last year.
“Please note that the $20 refuse truck charge is a once off charge towards buying a new refuse truck as per our budget consultative meetings and approved budget,” read the May bills statement shown to Chronicle.
The council is not collecting refuse as it does not have an operational refuse truck.
There is an outcry in the resort town as residents feel the local authority is fleecing them by making them contribute directly towards buying a refuse truck instead of using money from the revenue it collects every month.
“When did we start buying vehicles for the council? We are also struggling and we cannot even afford to buy a bicycle?” said Ernest Nkomo from Mkhosana Township.
He added: “Why are they billing it together with water, isn’t it that they want to disconnect water when we fail to pay? We have been paying a lot of money for other services like street lights, which have never been installed for many years.”
Chronicle Victoria Falls newsroom was inundated with calls from disgruntled residents who also accused the local authority of inflating bills.
Some said their May bills were exorbitant and suspected they had been inflated.
“They last collected meter readings on March 25 and only came again on May 19, now we do not know if they are charging us the right amounts. My bill this month is $77 yet we usually pay about $20 per month,” said a resident on condition of anonymity.
Some took it to the social networks questioning why they were being charged to buy a refuse truck when they were already paying refuse collection charges.
Ratepayers in the high density suburbs pay about $3 supplementary charges, $4 refuse collection fee and $1 for street lights per month among other charges.
Some said they received bills as $150 for the month of May.
“How are we expected to clear such high bills which have not beeen explained? Their ultimate aim is to disconnect water supplies” said a resident.
Residents leader Morgan Dube said it was wrong for the municipality to demand a once off payment.
He said while residents understood that refuse was not being collected because there was no refuse truck, the local authority was not handling the issue transparently.
“The money was talked about, but it should have been spread over a period of six months. The council should have done this long back. We do not know why it took them this long and now they want to bill residents at once. That is wrong,” he said.
While defending the $20 charge, Town Clerk Christopher Dube however blamed council officials for not communicating with ratepayers.
“The problem is that council has not been communicating with ratepayers yet it was agreed that residents will contribute $20 per household towards buying the refuse truck. The treasury department took long to implement the decision and now people are complaining bitterly. It is true people have been billed, but that is a once off thing as we want to buy a refuse truck,” said Dube.
The town boss who assumed office early this month, allayed fears they would disconnect water supplies if residents fail to pay the $20, saying “remember it is illegal to do so without court approval.”
He said the local authority will employ other means to recover the money.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter