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Blessing Karubwa, Chronicle Reporter
OLD Luveve residents in Bulawayo have complained over their inability to monitor their water consumption as council has locked all newly installed water meters in the suburb.
Only Bulawayo City Council water meter readers have keys to the meter boxes.
Bulawayo Progressive Residents’ Association Ward 15 chairperson Mr Ndaba Ngoma said residents’ frustrations stem from their failure to know whether council is billing them on actual consumption or estimates.
“Residents want to record daily readings so that they control their daily water usage. We have a daily limit of 450l and most residents want to stay within that limit, but it’s difficult if they’re denied keys to their own water meters to monitor their own daily consumption,” said Mr Ngoma.
“Residents can’t just be told that they have used so much water without proof. They should only be paying for actual consumption, and to do so, their readings must tally with council readings, but that can only be so with access to their meters.
How do they know if what they are paying for are not estimates?” he said.
Bulawayo United Residents’ Association Ward 15 chairperson Mr Cassian Mugomezi said council should work in harmony with residents.
“Whatever council does, it must consult and agree with residents because all the money it collects is meant to service residents. It can’t just be council telling residents this is how much water you used in a month without allowing them to verify by enabling them to read their own meters,” Mr Mugomezi said.
Residents said council employees just barged into their yards and took meter readings alone without notifying tenants and refuse to share the readings.
Bulawayo City Council spokesperson Mrs Nesisa Mpofu said they had a shortage of meter box keys and could therefore, not give residents a copy.
She urged residents to read their meters together with council meter readers so that they can verify when their bills come.
“The keys for the meter box were in short supply to avail copies for residents. It should also be noted that vandalism and tempering of meters is also high,” said Mrs Mpofu.
She said not all meters have challenges reading as boxes differed for wall mounted meters.
Council, she said, is in the process of fitting water meters in other suburbs.
“Council has installed 4 800 meters in Cowdray Park Hlalani Kuhle under the Bulawayo Water and Sewage Service Improvement Project (BWSSIP) project and 4 914 under the Water WorX project. Council has installed 200 meters under the United Nations International Children’s Education Fund sponsored project in Nkulumane suburb. We have an ongoing meter installation programme in Entumbane suburb (400 meters installed to date),” said Mrs Mpofu.
She said BCC has installed 18 109 meters under the Bulawayo Water and Sewerage Services Improvement Project funded by the African Development Fund (BWSSIP) in suburbs under the Magwegwe and Criterion Reservoir Zones. — @TichaKarubwa
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