The City of Gweru is now engaging the services of a debt collector to force residents and ratepayers to settle their water bills and other supplementary charges as the debtors’ book has shot to $ 71 billion.
It has also been noted that some residents last paid for any council service 10 years ago.
The local authority is now putting the blame for its failure to improve service delivery on residents and ratepayers who are reluctant to settle bills.
GCC has a track record of failing to collect refuse on time, failing to pay its workers on time as well as failing to provide water to all residents due to depressed pumping capacity at the Gwenhoro water treatment plant because of absolute equipment which they are failing to replace citing financial challenges.
GCC mayor Councilor Martin Chivhoko in an interview said the debtor’s book is now at $ 71 billion as of December up from $54 billion as of October last year.
“We are now in the process of engaging the services of a debt collector to force residents and ratepayers to settle their water bills and other supplementary charges as the debtors book has shot to $ 71 billion. If we don’t do anything about it some will definitely become reluctant and forget about settling their bills,” he said.
Giving a breakdown of council debtors Cllr Chivhoko said businesses and industries owe council $37billion while residents’ bill stands at $26billion and the Government departments owe $7,7billion.
“If we had half of this money owed to the council we could do a lot in terms of replacing absolute water pumping equipment to increase water to the people for example. We could replace old sewer and water reticulation systems and do a lot to improve service delivery and therefore the need for a debt collector to force people and companies to settle their debts,” he said.
Cllr Chivhoko said it was unfortunate that residents who were paid up and deserved better service delivery were affected by other people who didn’t want to settle their bills.
“Most of our ratepayers are not paying at all while others are not responding on time and we are left with no option but to engage debt collectors. It’s shocking to note that others last visited the revenue hall more than 10 years ago and still expect service delivery from the local authority,” he said.
Cllr Chivhoko said the top on GCC’s priority list is water provision in the face of the cholera outbreak.
He said residents needed clean water all the time to curb the spread of the waterborne disease.
“We are prioritizing increasing the pumping capacity to 67mega liters so that the precious liquid reaches every home in the city. We also want to work on street lighting along the major roads leading into the city,” he said.
Cllr Chivhoko said Mkoba 21 stands should be ready for construction before the end of the year.
“Potential homeowners have waited a long time for their Mkoba 21 stands. It’s only fair that we complete servicing them before they move on and start construction of their houses,” he said. #The Sun
