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BULAWAYO City Council is now owed $90 million by residents and this debt accumulated in just one year. The council following a directive from government in 2013 wrote off $50 million it was owed by residents and this debt had accrued over five years. What this means is that when council wrote off the $50 million, most residents stopped paying their bills hoping another directive would be issued for councils to write off residents’ debts. This is a very unfortunate development which, if not addressed soon, could see most local authorities grinding to a halt.

Bulawayo City Council, like other local authorities that include Harare, Gweru and many others, have embarked on massive water disconnections to force residents to clear their arrears. This is despite the fact that the High Court has declared such action unconstitutional.

The Harare City Council has appealed against the High Court ruling and councils are of the view that the appeal has automatically suspended the High Court order hence they have resumed water disconnections.

The High Court ruling compelled councils to seek court orders before cutting water supplies to residents. The Mayor of Bulawayo, Clr Martin Moyo, who is also the Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe (UCAZ) president, said taking legal action against defaulters was a cumbersome and expensive process hence most councils had resorted to water disconnections to force residents to pay for water and other service charges.

He said the legal route was not only expensive to council but to residents as well as they are the ones who are supposed to pay the legal fees thereby worsening their situation. Bulawayo City Council, apart from disconnecting water, is now attaching properties of defaulters and auctioning them as part of its debt recovery. It is the auctioning of residents’ property that we think is too harsh given that most of the property is sold for a song at public auctions.

The bulk of the money realised from the auction goes towards paying legal fees and other charges leaving very little to clear the arrears. Most residents whose properties have been auctioned are as a result still saddled with huge debts so auctioning residents’ properties is not the solution.

We want at this juncture to implore council to find other alternative methods of recovering debt as auctioning of properties has proved unworkable. Residents, it has to be emphasised, have an obligation to pay for water bills and other service charges to enable councils to continue offering the services. The situation obtaining in Bulawayo and other cities where residents have completely stopped paying bills is not acceptable and cannot be condoned. The residents should strive to pay the little they realise every month towards clearing their arrears.

The Bulawayo City Council for example has been encouraging residents to come up with payment plans but most residents who have submitted these payment plans are reneging on the agreements. Residents’ associations therefore have a challenge to encourage their members to pay bills. The same residents who are complaining about deteriorating services are not paying for the services.

We want to once again appeal to residents to ensure that every month they pay something towards clearing their arrears to enable councils to continue providing the required services.