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Yoliswa Dube-Moyo, Matabeleland South Bureau Chief
The Municipality of Gwanda is owed over $330 million by both residents and corporate clients in unpaid service bills, a situation which has compromised service delivery.

In April last year, the municipality was forced to disconnect water supplies to defaulting rate payers as the municipality moved to recover what it was owed by residents and commercial entities.

The local authority was owed $247 million, of which $80 million was owed by residents and the remainder was owed by the commercial sector.

The process of disconnecting water supplies started in Jahunda suburb and Phakama residents with high outstanding bills were left stranded without water.

Gwanda Municipality finance director Mr Xolani Dube said residents currently owed over $200 million while institutional clients such as Government departments owed over $130 million.

“As a result, the municipality is facing financial challenges and delays in carrying out planned projects which can’t be done with inadequate funds,” said Mr Dube.

He said the council was considering various measures to collect the money which is needed for a number of projects.

“We are working towards implementing measures for debt collection. We are going to engage debt collectors, we have debt reminders for defaulters and as a last resort we will have to attach properties to recover what is owed to us,” said Mr Dube.

He urged residents to pay up to avoid being disconnected, adding that council was open to engage with those in arrears to make payment plans.

Gwanda mayor Councillor Njabulo Siziba, however, said the council would not be disconnecting those in arrears as this has proven futile in the past.

“The challenge is that if the residents don’t have money, there’s no surety of recovering it. However, in the advent of the installation of pre-paid meters by Zinwa from our reservoirs, it will be articulated clearly to everyone that                that this time around, you can’t drink water without paying for it,” said Clr Siziba.

He said the council would continue engaging residents so that they understand the importance of paying their bills.

“Those who will cooperate would have done good, those who will not cooperate, council would then decide what the next course of action would be.

The answer lies in the prepaid meters which will be circulated door-to-door, but residents in arrears will not receive them until they commit to a payment plan,” said Clr Siziba.

Meanwhile, about 70 percent of the prepaid water meters installed by the Gwanda Municipality in the first phase of its prepaid water metering project in the mining town have since broken down.

This has been attributed to poor quality meters supplied to the local authority, which has stalled the municipality’s plans to install more prepaid water meters across the town.

In 2015, the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing gave Gwanda Municipality the green light to go ahead with its proposed prepaid water meter project to enhance revenue collection and improve service delivery despite protests by residents. – @Yolisswa