The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube, Senior Municipal Reporter
THE Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) has described the move by the Bulawayo city council to intensify water disconnections as a means of forcing residents to pay their debts, as a breach of residents’ fundamental rights.
In a statement, the residents association said the move by the local authority largely impended on the fundamental rights of the residents.
Council this week announced that it has intensified citywide water disconnections to encourage rates payment.
BPRA has however noted that water, unlike electricity is a right and nowhere in the world is cutting water considered to be a best practice to force residents to pay.
“Because of a high urban poverty rate and a high unemployment rate, relatively expensive water bills are unaffordable for a significant portion of the population which survives on out-of-pocket transactions.
“In very rare circumstances, water disconnections due to non-payment have only been permissible if it can be shown that the resident is able to pay but is not paying. In other words, when there is genuine inability to pay, human rights simply forbid disconnections according to the United Nations,” reads the statement.
The association noted that the local authority was failing to stick to their water shedding schedule meaning BCC was essentially disconnecting a service that is not available.
“It is the view of BPRA that inefficient collection of revenue is a problem of BCC. BPRA therefore immediately calls upon council to immediately suspend water cuts and to urgently reconnect households which suffered unjustified disconnections.
“While water sale is the primary source of revenue for BCC, BPRA would like to urge BCC to innovate and bring finality to the parking meter project which remains a missed opportunity for BCC,” reads the statement.
