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Pamela Shumba, Senior Reporter
BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) schools are owed more than $2 million in unpaid school fees for last year’s third term, a development the local authority says is affecting service delivery.

In a report contained in the latest council minutes, the director of housing and community services, Mr Dictor Khumalo, said by the end of third term last year, $496 686 had been paid for fees and $2 303 714 remains outstanding.

“The total amount owed to council for tuition fees and council levies was $2 303 714 at the close of 3rd term. The SDCs were owed a combined total of $1 995 258 by parents for their levies,” said Mr Khumalo.

He said 2017 was a challenging year for the majority of Zimbabweans and residents of the city of Bulawayo due to cash shortages being experienced in the country.

“The second half of last year proved to be more challenging with the cash shortages intensifying. More people turned to the use of mobile money transactions, Ecocash, Zipit, swipe and bank transfers in order to pay for services as cash disappeared in the banks. This affected the payments of fees in the schools and other council services,” said Mr Khumalo.

He extended the council’s appreciation to parents who managed to pay fees for their children and implored the rest to clear their arrears.

@pamelashumba1