The Sunday News
RESIDENTS across the country have been complaining of the deteriorating standards of service delivery from local authorities over the years.
There has been growing sentiments that councillors have been taking their election into office as a meal ticket to amass wealth, at the expense of fighting for the betterment of infrastructure and service delivery in their wards.
While that has been proven true with the arrest of a number of councillors and council officials across the country for corruption, what cannot be ignored is that residents also have a role to play. Apart from having to keep their representatives in council on their toes by demanding better service delivery, residents also have to pay their rates.
The money derived from rates is used by council to fund road repairs, water supply and the sewer reticulation management, public lighting, education, council clinics, law and order, refuse collection, and general social services and community development.
If residents and businesses do not pay their rates, it means council will not have enough money to fund its expenditure, which of course also includes salaries for workers.
Our sister paper, Chronicle reported last week that Bulawayo residents, particularly from low density areas, were owing council huge amounts of money. The city is owed more than $800 million by residents and business, which has forced it to start water disconnections to force defaulters to pay up.
What is shocking is that residents living in affluent suburbs like Burnside and Hillside are among those who have accumulated the highest unpaid bills to the Bulawayo City Council. Businesses have also been found wanting.
Out of the 29 wards, Ward 1 which covers the city’s centre has the highest debt as it owes $130 million. From the total, $18 million is domestic or residential debt and $112 million is owed by institutions or businesses.
Ward 6 that encompasses Bellevue, Newton West, Barham Green, Montrose, West Somerton, Southwold, Donnington, Belmont and Sidojiwe Hostel has the second highest debt of $84 million, with a domestic debt of about $10 million. Ward 7 that covers Makokoba, Thorngrove Industries, Thorngrove, Westgate, Steeldale and Westondale comes third in the city’s debt rankings as it owes $73 million with the domestic debt amounting to $11 million.
Ward 4, which includes Burnside, Riverside, Buena Vista, Waterford, Fortunes Gate, Selborne Park Phases 1 and 2, owes $61 million and has the highest domestic debt citywide of $38 million.
Lobengula’s Ward 14 owes the council the least amount of $7 million with $6 million being the residential debt and other areas with low debts are Nkulumane’s Ward 23 which owes council $8 million with at least $7 million being a domestic debt while Ward 15 which covers Old Luveve and New Luveve owes the municipality nearly $10 million and $7 million is domestic debt. Other wards owe council between $10 million and $26 million.
In a statement yesterday, Bulawayo town clerk Mr Christopher Dube said the debts are for the period ending December 31, 2020. He said domestic debtors owed council $391 million and institutions owed the authority $416 million dollars.
Bulawayo deputy mayor Councillor Mlandu Ncube reiterated that failure to pay bills was impacting on the council’s ability to provide service delivery.
“This picture shows how bad our financial status is as a city. It also reflects to the economy of the local authority. It shows that we are not good ratepayers as residents.
“Therefore, we encourage our residents to pay so that the council can deliver services. Service delivery is like someone at a shop, when you pick something you have to pay for it. Services come at an expense and we encourage residents to pay their bills.
“And as council we are now disconnecting water supplies as a way of recovering what is owed to council,” said Cllr Ncube.
