Bulawayo gets tough on defaulting residents

The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has embarked on a massive exercise to disconnect water for defaulting residents, saying defaulters should either come up with payment plans or face the prospect of disconnection.

On Tuesday, the exercise was carried out in Magwegwe North suburb, with BCC saying it would be moving to other suburbs soon.

In separate interviews with Southern Eye yesterday, Bulawayo residents' association leaders urged ratepayers to engage the local authority and make payment plans.

"People should approach the council and make arrangements on how they should pay.

"I once spoke to town clerk (Christopher Dube) and he said people should pay current rates, so that council can continue functioning," Bulawayo United Residents' Association chairperson, Winos Dube said.

However, Bulawayo Progressive Residents' Association information manager, Zibusiso Dube said council should understand that people were operating under a harsh economic climate and should be lenient with defaulters.

"Instead of disconnecting water, council should engage people and make payment plans with them," he said.

"They should understand that there is an economic crisis in Zimbabwe.

"Residents are willing to pay, but due to economic challenges, they are failing.

"It's a tragedy. We would like to urge council to engage residents, who are failing to pay and make payment arrangements."

Efforts to get a comment from the town clerk and mayor, Martin Moyo were fruitless as their mobile phones were unreachable.