Harare blames residents for chaos

The Harare City Council has attributed its ongoing service delivery challenges to unpaid debts by residents and other stakeholders, revealing that over ZiG 8.4 billion is owed to the municipality. Mayor Jacob Mafume stated that residents alone account for 80% of the arrears, while businesses and government agencies make up the remainder.

Speaking at Town House, Mafume warned that the financial strain is severely impacting the council's operations, with some debts having accumulated for more than a decade. He emphasized that revenue collection is central to service delivery, noting that the council aims to achieve at least an 80% collection rate by 2026, with plans to reach full compliance in the future.

To encourage repayment, the council has launched a time-bound debt settlement initiative offering a 20% discount to residents who clear outstanding balances between January 19 and February 13. Residents paying in foreign currency, including those in the diaspora, are eligible for additional benefits. Mafume highlighted that a recent commercial sector collection blitz had produced positive results.

The mayor also pointed to the importance of the city's enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, which integrates accounting, procurement, and billing into a single auditable platform. The system, costing between US$360,000 and US$500,000 annually to maintain, is expected to curb corruption and financial mismanagement. He revealed that prior weaknesses allowed unauthorized access to the council's finances, with reports indicating that around 1,000 individuals had the authority to open accounts, creating opportunities for misuse and theft.

"The systems have been manipulated. Super users have gone in to take money and create accounts," Mafume said. "We are tightening controls around profligacy, corruption, and misuse of council funds so we can focus on investments, housing, and other projects."

The mayor indicated that the council intends to prosecute the super users and other involved parties. Harare, like other local authorities, has long struggled with service delivery issues, compounded by accusations that central government interference and politically appointed management have undermined competent leadership at municipal level.