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Midlands Bureau
Kwekwe City Council and Redcliff municipality have resolved to introduce a dual pricing system when billing residents to offer them more payment choices.

There has not been a facility to pay bills in foreign currency at the two local authorities with residents carrying hard cash complaining that they had to convert their foreign currency first before making payments.

Kwekwe city officials last week through a full council resolution adopted the dual pricing system saying the move will help retain the value of the revenue it was collecting.

Kwekwe city deputy mayor Councillor Shadreck Tobaiwa said the local authority would start sending water and rates bills in local and foreign currency.

“This was a resolution, which was agreed to by a full council meeting because we had instances where residents were walking into the revenue hall with forex and were being turned back when we are actually in need of that forex. Many companies, which supply materials now demand payment in forex so there was also this need for the local authority to also collect revenue in hard currency,” he said.

Clr Tobaiwa said the local authority was in dire need of foreign currency and urged rate payers who were able to pay in forex to start doing so.

He said the local authority will also open a forex account so that they retain value.

“We will be using official bank rate and we are in the process of opening a nostro account so that we retain value from the revenue collection that will be done in forex.”

Clr Tobaiwa said the local authority was also considering selling both residential and commercial stands in forex.

“Our charges were in local currency but we have said residential stands that should be paid for in hard currency and this is what we are deliberating as council,” he said.

Meanwhile, Redcliff Municipality secretary Mr Gilson Chakauuya said the municipality was also accepting payments in foreign currency.