The Sunday Mail
Municipal Reporter
Chitungwiza Residents’ Trust says council should come up with affordable payment plans to enable defaulters to settle outstanding bills, while an economist has called on Government to bail out the town. Trust director Mr Marvellous Kumalo said most residents were failing to pay rates as they were already struggling to get by.
Residents and businesses, mostly small-scale, owe the municipality US$28 million that accumulated after local authorities scrapped bills last year.
On average, each household receives bills of about US$20 monthly.
“We are aware that some residents have not been paying council bills due to various reasons, one of them being the prevailing economic environment where people do not have money,” said Mr Kumalo.
“Council should come up with payment plans rather than engaging debt collectors. This will increase the burden on the residents as they will be charged more (including debt-collectors’ fees).”
Economist Mr Trust Chikohora advocated Government intervention, hinting that striking workers were not wrong in demanding unpaid salaries. Mr Chikohora said: “The Chitungwiza situation has persisted; an option now is Government intervention because the workers are not wrong in a way.
“A social contract that includes labour, local government and council is needed so that Government can unveil funding to cover the salaries as good assurance to the workers.
“We are aware that Government is facing challenges with funds, but this should be done to sustain the local authority. The municipality can also borrow from banks, but should not overlook the fact that our banks charge high interest rates.”
