The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube, Senior Municipal Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council is going ahead its water disconnection drive despite recent calls from councillors to abandon the move encouraging the local authority to resort to other means of debt recovery outside the disconnections.
However, it has since emerged that after the communication by the city’s Town Clerk, Mr Christopher Dube on the impending disconnections last Friday, the local authority has recorded an increase in bill payments as residents move to avoid being disconnected.
Responding to written questions, council spokesperson, Mrs Nesisa Mpofu encouraged residents to pay the little they have to avoid disconnections.
“The exercise has motivated residents to approach the local authority to clear their outstanding bills as well as enter into payment arrangement. Residents are encouraged to timeously pay their bills to avoid any inconvenience,” said Mrs Mpofu.
She said the local authority is owed $189 million while it is owing just over $190 million to its creditors.
Commenting on the disconnections, the city’s mayor, Councillor Solomon Mguni said what they were differing with council management were the short notice being given to residents.
“The city treasury has a responsibility to collect all outstanding debts in terms of council by-laws and resolutions that are in place. What we don’t agree with management as councillors is where the residents are given short notices for the disconnection of water supplies and where payment plans are turned down.
“However, we cannot have a situation whereby some residents are paying their dues in time and on full and others are not paying at all. We are aware that our residents are constrained in terms having no disposable income to support the city’s budgetary needs, but we also have obligations to continue to provide clean water, collect garbage, repair roads and pay staff salaries,” said Clr Mguni.
On Monday, the Town Clerk the Town Clerk described water disconnections as a last resort to recover part of what the city is owed by ratepayers, as its books are in shambles due to non-payment of rates.
“The situation is very bad now because residents are not paying their dues. Disconnections are done as a last resort to encourage rate payers to honour their obligations or at least pay something and make payment plans to enable council to continue with the provision of services,” said Mr Dube.
