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Lovemore Zigara, Midlands Correspondent
GWERU City Council will start installing prepaid water meters early this year as it seeks to boost revenue collection.

The chairman of the commission running the affairs of Gweru, Commissioner Tsunga Mhangami yesterday said the exercise will be implemented in phases starting with the central business district (CBD).

He said the introduction of prepaid water meters was a way of improving revenue collection due to the high numbers of people and businesses failing to pay for services rendered.

“The exercise is definitely going on beginning early this year. However, this will be done in stages starting with the CBD which we will use as a pilot project and see how it works and then once we are satisfied we will roll it out in residential areas,” he said.

“We hope this will go a long way in improving revenue collection in the city which will translate into improved service provision. This will also see residents being responsible in the way they will be using water because you will use what you have paid for.”

Mr Mhangami blamed the high default rate for council’s failure to provide quality services.

He said Gweru is owed over $35 million by ratepayers, an amount which is almost equal to its annual budget which stands at $41 million.

Meanwhile, council could have lost millions of dollars in potential revenue after it emerged that infill stands which were allocated by the local authority do not appear in the surveyor general’s map and are not in council’s database.

As a result thousands of residents with such stands mainly in the suburbs of Mkoba, Ascot, Senga and Northlea have not been paying water bills and rates to council.

The findings are contained in a water audit done by a local engineering firm Zimit at the behest of council.

Mr Mhangami admitted that thousands of households and some business premises were not being billed by the local authority.

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