News / Local
Bulawayo residents likely to spend Christmas without water
17 Dec 2011 at 07:08hrs | Views
Bulawayo residents owing the city council are likely to spend Christmas without water. Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has embarked on a massive disconnection exercise, probably the most widespread in its history, in a bid to recover $61 million it is owed by ratepayers.
A health hazard is looming due to the ongoing disconnection exercise and there are threats that council wants to enforce its by-laws that stipulate that occupants of disconnected properties should be evicted on health grounds if water supplies are not restored within five days.
Sources from council yesterday said more than two thirds of accounts in the city were overdue and faced disconnection.
The city council's director of financial services, Mr Kimpton Ndimande, said in the latest council report that the council needs to collect about $7 million daily to meet its operational costs.
"The city, which is struggling with a crippling cash flow crisis, has stepped up debt collection efforts as it is finding it increasingly difficult to meet its financial obligations," said a council worker, who asked not to be named.
"The blitz on defaulters comes at a time when council creditors have resorted to cutting supplies, cancelling credit facilities, garnishing council bank accounts, taking legal action to recover amounts owed to them by the local authority. Suppliers and service providers are also demanding cash upfront," said the official.
The official said thousands of disconnection notices have been sent out to residents, Government departments and companies.
"Some ratepayers have been handed over to the legal department after getting disconnected and have not paid despite the several reminders. Some of the ratepayers have refused disconnection teams entry into their premises. This is the biggest disconnection exercise council has ever embarked on," said the official.
Council employees went on strike on Friday last week when the local authority failed to pay November salaries and slashed allowances, including bonus for workers in grade four upwards.
According to the latest council report, the local authority has decentralised cut-offs from its Revenue Hall in the city centre, to housing offices in the suburbs in a bid to increase efficiency.
It has also allocated vehicles specifically for disconnecting teams at housing offices and wants to increase the vehicles involved in the exercise.
"The disconnection exercise will cover weekends. This has the effect of increasing collection days and number of properties covered. The exercise will cover the months of November and December targeting festive season savings," read the report.
The report indicated that balances of more than $50 would be targeted to widen the debtors' base for collection.
"Government indebtedness to December 2011 will be submitted immediately to allow payment before year end, while arrangement for payments will be sent again to account holders, to encourage those who have
agreed on payment terms to honour them," read the report.
Repeated efforts to increase the rate of revenue collection, which often hovers around 32 percent, have been largely unsuccessful.
Contacted for comment, the city's senior public relations officer Mrs Nesisa Mpofu confirmed the blitz but said residents would not be evicted if they fail to settle their accounts within five days.
She said owners of disconnected properties were required to settle their bills, pay a reconnection fee of $10,58 and a security deposit of $20 before supplies could be restored.
She urged property owners to safeguard themselves from being cut off or being sued for recovery of owing amounts by approaching council's revenue offices to make a payment plan to clear their debts.
"Ideally, a payment plan acceptable to council involves an initial payment of 10 percent of the total outstanding debt, followed thereafter by making monthly payments of monthly bills in full plus 10 percent of the
outstanding debt until the amount is paid in full," she said.
Mrs Mpofu said defaulting on the agreement would expose the account holder to the ongoing debt recovery measures.
The local authority owed about $36 million to its creditors at the end of September.
Residents have resorted to setting dogs on disconnecting teams or closing their gates to refuse them entry.
A health hazard is looming due to the ongoing disconnection exercise and there are threats that council wants to enforce its by-laws that stipulate that occupants of disconnected properties should be evicted on health grounds if water supplies are not restored within five days.
Sources from council yesterday said more than two thirds of accounts in the city were overdue and faced disconnection.
The city council's director of financial services, Mr Kimpton Ndimande, said in the latest council report that the council needs to collect about $7 million daily to meet its operational costs.
"The city, which is struggling with a crippling cash flow crisis, has stepped up debt collection efforts as it is finding it increasingly difficult to meet its financial obligations," said a council worker, who asked not to be named.
"The blitz on defaulters comes at a time when council creditors have resorted to cutting supplies, cancelling credit facilities, garnishing council bank accounts, taking legal action to recover amounts owed to them by the local authority. Suppliers and service providers are also demanding cash upfront," said the official.
The official said thousands of disconnection notices have been sent out to residents, Government departments and companies.
"Some ratepayers have been handed over to the legal department after getting disconnected and have not paid despite the several reminders. Some of the ratepayers have refused disconnection teams entry into their premises. This is the biggest disconnection exercise council has ever embarked on," said the official.
Council employees went on strike on Friday last week when the local authority failed to pay November salaries and slashed allowances, including bonus for workers in grade four upwards.
According to the latest council report, the local authority has decentralised cut-offs from its Revenue Hall in the city centre, to housing offices in the suburbs in a bid to increase efficiency.
It has also allocated vehicles specifically for disconnecting teams at housing offices and wants to increase the vehicles involved in the exercise.
The report indicated that balances of more than $50 would be targeted to widen the debtors' base for collection.
"Government indebtedness to December 2011 will be submitted immediately to allow payment before year end, while arrangement for payments will be sent again to account holders, to encourage those who have
agreed on payment terms to honour them," read the report.
Repeated efforts to increase the rate of revenue collection, which often hovers around 32 percent, have been largely unsuccessful.
Contacted for comment, the city's senior public relations officer Mrs Nesisa Mpofu confirmed the blitz but said residents would not be evicted if they fail to settle their accounts within five days.
She said owners of disconnected properties were required to settle their bills, pay a reconnection fee of $10,58 and a security deposit of $20 before supplies could be restored.
She urged property owners to safeguard themselves from being cut off or being sued for recovery of owing amounts by approaching council's revenue offices to make a payment plan to clear their debts.
"Ideally, a payment plan acceptable to council involves an initial payment of 10 percent of the total outstanding debt, followed thereafter by making monthly payments of monthly bills in full plus 10 percent of the
outstanding debt until the amount is paid in full," she said.
Mrs Mpofu said defaulting on the agreement would expose the account holder to the ongoing debt recovery measures.
The local authority owed about $36 million to its creditors at the end of September.
Residents have resorted to setting dogs on disconnecting teams or closing their gates to refuse them entry.
Source - TC
