The Sunday News
Valencia Ndhlovu, Sunday News Reporter
BULAWAYO residents today staged a demonstration against the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) protesting the poor service delivery in the city.
Residents from all the city’s 29 wards converged at the Large City Hall carrying placards bemoaning the deteriorating service delivery standards.
The residents gathered outside the Large City Hall waving various placards with their grievances
Among the issues that were raised by the residents were the state of the city’s roads, the high bills and also accused the local authority of not consulting residents during the budget making process.
Some of the complaints were on the poor state of the roads, water and sewer infrastructure
Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association, deputy chairperson, Ms Patricia Tshabalala called on council officials to consider their plight as most of the residents could hardly afford the high bills which they were receiving.
The residents also questioned the high rates
“We bought stands back in 2016 and they still haven’t been given to us, the council is demanding US$6 000 for us to top up. The people that bought stands with us have even passed away before even receiving stands from the Council.
“Council must hear our plights and consult us before drawing up budgets and straining the public with ridiculous bills yet the water is always not there. We drink from buckets and we are wondering how the bills are always hiking,” said Ms Tshabalala
The residents further bemoaned council’s debt recovery method noting that it will eventually see the majority of them losing their properties.
“The most enunciating things is that the council has adopted the debt recovery method whereby when fails to pay the bill they resort to taking people’s property and houses. How is that fair to old age people especially the ones from Makokoba who cannot even take care of themselves and can’t pay their own bills,” said one of the protesters who declined to be named.
BCC officials were however not at bay to address the protestors, who dispersed a few minutes although leaving their placards at the Large City Hall’s entrance.
