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Mpumelelo Nyoni, Chronicle Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council has threatened to defy the High Court ruling barring local authorities from disconnecting water to defaulting residents as it has sent messages to ratepayers warning of a looming water disconnection blitz.

Earlier this year, Justice Chinembiri Bhunu ruled that disconnecting water to force residents to pay bills was unconstitutional.

Residents have been receiving text messages warning them of the intended disconnections.

“Please be advised that Bulawayo City Council will be disconnecting water with immediate effect on all properties whose accounts are in arrears. You’re therefore encouraged to bring your accounts up to date to avoid this inconvenience,” read the text message.

Nessisa Mpofu, council’s public relations officer, confirmed the development but did not say when the disconnections would commence.

She asked for questions in writing but had not responded to questions sent to her via e-mail by the time of going to Press.

Bulawayo United Residents’ Association (Bura) chairperson Winos Dube described the intended disconnections as unlawful, saying the municipality risks being charged with contempt of court.

“This comes as a surprise to me. As residents we believe the High Court ruling deemed the practice unconstitutional and I’m wondering whose authority they’re working on,” said Dube.

He warned council against the action, saying it would create problems for the local authority.

“If they’ve not applied for special exemption, I urge them to come to their senses. As much as we appreciate that debtors have to settle their arrears, council must engage residents before disconnecting them,” added Dube.

He told Chronicle that Bura would meet with residents this weekend to discuss the impending disconnections after some of them expressed concern over the issue.

In his landmark ruling, Justice Bhunu described Section 8 of the Water By-law Statutory Instrument 164 of 1913, which empowers local authorities to arbitrarily cut water supplies, as unconstitutional.  This was after a lawyer Farai Mushoriwa had contested disconnection of water to his Harare home.

Before it was struck down, the section in question read: “Council may, by giving 24 hours notice in writing and without prejudicing its right to obtain payment for water supply to its consumer, disconnect supplies to the consumer: (a) If he shall have failed to pay any sum, which in the opinion of the council, is due under these conditions or the water by-laws.”