Loveness Bepete Chronicle Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council has passed a resolution to resume water disconnections in defiance of a High Court ruling that declared the practice unconstitutional.The local authority has in recent months been threatening to embark on massive water cuts to recover about $90 million owed by residents, despite warnings by residents’ associations that the move was illegal.

By passing the resolution on October 20, council has effectively paved the way for its workers to carry out the exercise.

In May, Justice Chinembiri Bhunu ruled that municipalities countrywide should not disconnect water supplies to defaulting residents without a court order.

Justice Bhunu described as illegal section 8 of the water By-law Statutory Instrument 164 of 1913 which empowers local authorities to disconnect water supplies in the absence of a court order.

The local authority has, in the latest council report, attributed the decrease of revenue collection to the suspension of water disconnections in May.

This year council had expected to collect $103 million from consumers but only managed $13 million in 10 months.

“Council now considered the matter and the prevailing view during the ensuing debate was in favour of the resumption of water disconnections to persuade residents to clear their arrears. It was observed that revenue inflows had decreased following the suspension of disconnections in May 2014,” read the report.

“The reintroduction of water disconnections was likely to see an improvement in the collection rate and revenue inflows in general.”

The joint finance and development and general purposes committees agreed that resumption of water disconnection was a more effective method of revenue collection.

“This is clearly a more effective and yet friendlier method of revenue collection than the harsh litigation route, through which residents could easily lose their properties. Suspension of disconnections had given the debtors a false sense of security, resulting in general laxity in the payment of their monthly dues.”

The local authority resolved to start disconnecting water supplies to consumers who fail to honour their payment arrangements, do not come forward to make necessary arrangements to pay off their debts, those handed over for legal action but failed to positively respond and those who engage in illegal activities to tamper with council’s water or reticulation system.

Bulawayo Residents’ Association organising secretary Methuseli Mpofu said the local authority’s move to disconnect water was unacceptable.

He said water was a basic need and could not be substituted with anything.

“People don’t have money and instead council should try and understand residents’ failure to pay water bills. Water can’t be substituted like electricity where you can use firewood to cook, you can’t bath with coke,” he said.

In October, a Pumula South widow collapsed and later died after receiving a notice that council was attaching her property over unpaid bills amounting to $306.

 

You Might Also Like

Comments