News / National
Councillors, officials clash over debt collection
12 Nov 2017 at 02:51hrs | Views
COUNCILLORS and council officials were last week at each other's throats over the engagement of debt collectors and attachment of property to recover what residents owed them, it has been learnt.
Bulawayo City Council officials argued that residents were "not willing" to either settle their debts or approach council to set payment terms hence the need to adopt drastic measures, inclusive of attachment of their property with the option of auctioning it. The matter that was initially meant to be deliberated during an open council session in the council chambers had to be referred to a closed session.
Council sources revealed that council officials led by the Town Clerk, Mr Christopher Dube tried to convince councillors to pass a motion that would see the local authority engage debt collectors to attach residents' properties arguing that revenue collection was at its lowest. This comes despite the local authority recording a three percent growth in revenue collection compared to the same period last year.
The debate arose from an initial motion by Ward 4 councillor, Silas Chigora, in July 2017 who implored council to stop the use of debt collectors and attachment of residents' property. According to a council report, in attempting to reject Clr Chigora's motion the officials claimed that the local authority was making and would continue to make losses if they accept the motion.
"Engagements with debtors is done from the Financial Services Department until the last stages in the chamber secretary's department. The department engages the debtors at each stage as long as the debtor co-operates. Help from councillors in the engagement of debtors would be appreciated and a schedule can be prepared for each councillor.
"Sales in execution by way of auction are only for debtors who are not forthcoming and they are very few. It is important to note that the notice of attachment and removal is very effective because a lot of debtors react at this stage. Once this stage is removed as in the current situation, it is actually a loss to institute legal proceedings at all. Council made a loss and will continue to make losses as long as the process is not taken to its logical end," reads part of the report.
Council officials were instead recommending that the decision to suspend attachments and auction of debtor's properties be removed and rescinded and the legal process be taken to "its logical conclusion."
"The city legal officer confirmed that there was a council resolution which stated that council desist from using debt collectors on domestic debtors and instead, engage the defaulting residents on this issue. Residents had ignored summons issued to them before, and council had resorted to auctioning and attaching residents' properties," reads the report.
Councillors who attended the meeting allege that all hell broke loose when the town clerk, Mr Dube, alleged that council was now collecting less revenue hence the need to adopt drastic measures to force residents to pay what they owed the local authority.
"I think the town clerk did not expect that councillors would be up to date in terms of council revenue inflow because it was immediately proven that the local authority has recorded an increase of three percent compared to last year hence his argument was flawed. Actually it was put to the officials that the reason they were claiming that revenue inflows had dropped was because they had increased their own expenditure through the purchase of their conditions of service vehicles," said one source.
According to the report the local authority is owed a total of $ 166 225 325 of which residents owe; $94 577 804, industry and commerce; $63 564 350, parastatals and self-funding Ministries; $3 377 711 and government departments owe $4 705 460.
In terms of revenue collection for the month of September the local authority collected $5 539 618 compared to September last year where they collected $5 373 366. In total as at September the local authority had collected $51 207 317.
Bulawayo City Council officials argued that residents were "not willing" to either settle their debts or approach council to set payment terms hence the need to adopt drastic measures, inclusive of attachment of their property with the option of auctioning it. The matter that was initially meant to be deliberated during an open council session in the council chambers had to be referred to a closed session.
Council sources revealed that council officials led by the Town Clerk, Mr Christopher Dube tried to convince councillors to pass a motion that would see the local authority engage debt collectors to attach residents' properties arguing that revenue collection was at its lowest. This comes despite the local authority recording a three percent growth in revenue collection compared to the same period last year.
The debate arose from an initial motion by Ward 4 councillor, Silas Chigora, in July 2017 who implored council to stop the use of debt collectors and attachment of residents' property. According to a council report, in attempting to reject Clr Chigora's motion the officials claimed that the local authority was making and would continue to make losses if they accept the motion.
"Engagements with debtors is done from the Financial Services Department until the last stages in the chamber secretary's department. The department engages the debtors at each stage as long as the debtor co-operates. Help from councillors in the engagement of debtors would be appreciated and a schedule can be prepared for each councillor.
"Sales in execution by way of auction are only for debtors who are not forthcoming and they are very few. It is important to note that the notice of attachment and removal is very effective because a lot of debtors react at this stage. Once this stage is removed as in the current situation, it is actually a loss to institute legal proceedings at all. Council made a loss and will continue to make losses as long as the process is not taken to its logical end," reads part of the report.
"The city legal officer confirmed that there was a council resolution which stated that council desist from using debt collectors on domestic debtors and instead, engage the defaulting residents on this issue. Residents had ignored summons issued to them before, and council had resorted to auctioning and attaching residents' properties," reads the report.
Councillors who attended the meeting allege that all hell broke loose when the town clerk, Mr Dube, alleged that council was now collecting less revenue hence the need to adopt drastic measures to force residents to pay what they owed the local authority.
"I think the town clerk did not expect that councillors would be up to date in terms of council revenue inflow because it was immediately proven that the local authority has recorded an increase of three percent compared to last year hence his argument was flawed. Actually it was put to the officials that the reason they were claiming that revenue inflows had dropped was because they had increased their own expenditure through the purchase of their conditions of service vehicles," said one source.
According to the report the local authority is owed a total of $ 166 225 325 of which residents owe; $94 577 804, industry and commerce; $63 564 350, parastatals and self-funding Ministries; $3 377 711 and government departments owe $4 705 460.
In terms of revenue collection for the month of September the local authority collected $5 539 618 compared to September last year where they collected $5 373 366. In total as at September the local authority had collected $51 207 317.
Source - sundaynews
