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Bongokuhle Moyo, Online Writer

Bulawayo Councillors have raised concern about the continued high bills being sent to residents due to a faulty billing system

According to the latest council report, the councillors said residents were complaining about the high bills and the billing system had not been corrected despite being debated upon time and again.

They urged the local authority to come up with an accurate billing system.

During debate, councillors called for an investigation into the high bills.

They said residents were also complaining that online payments took too long to reflect on the accounts.

The Mayor Councillor David Coltart said that the issue of outrageous bills should be taken seriously and investigated.

“The Council website needed to set up clearly the standard charges for each area and to improve on electronic management systems,” he said.

The Chairperson of the Finance and Development Committee in response encouraged fellow Councillors to bring samples of exorbitant bills for assessment and discussion as estimation of meter readings due to various resource constraints may result in huge bills.

To get accurate bills, he proposed the use of smart meters.

He said residents also contributed to the huge bills by not paying to Council and urged residents to pay their bills on time preferably in USD.

“On the issue of unaccredited bills, these were unidentified deposits reflecting in Council Bank accounts. Residents were encouraged to quote proper account numbers. Electronic Platform was in place but the intake was slow. There was need to teach the residents how to use the platform. Also, Council needs to engage the banks relating information required when paying bills to Council,” he said.