Harare City Council has announced a 14-fold increase in
clinic and maternity fees, a move that is raising opposition as the charges
will now vary directly with weekly changes in the exchange rate, with adults
this week being charged $344 for a consultation and children $206.
City Parking, the council parking arm, has more than
doubled its parking fees to $50 an hour.
The clinic fee increases, which came into effect yesterday,
have seen maternity fees pushed up from $120 to the local currency equivalent
of US$25, which is $1 720 at this week’s exchange rate.
Children consultation fees are now the equivalent of US$3
or $206,40 this week, up from $25, while adults now pay the equivalent of US$5,
or $344 this week, up from $50.
Motorists will from Monday pay $50 per hour for parking in
the city centre, up from $20 an hour.
In an interview yesterday, Harare spokesperson Mr Michael
Chideme said the fees in local currency will vary weekly depending on the
exchange rate.
“The decision was made to ensure the viability and
sustainability of the health system which is currently rated the best in the
country,” he said.
City Parking public relations manager Mr Francis Mandaza
also said they settled for $50 after consultations with stakeholders.
“Following extensive consultations done by City of Harare
and City Parking with the motoring public, we have rescinded our previous
decision to charge US$1 per hour or the equivalent,” he said.
“The new parking tariff shall be $50 per hour while those
who use our mobile app ‘Park Assist’, which is available on Google Playstore,
shall pay a discounted amount of $45 per hour.”
Parkades and parking lots have lower rates.
Combined Harare Residents Association director Mrs Loreen
Mupasiri-Sani last night said their concern was that council was pegging fees
in US dollars when patients were paid in local currency.
“Apart from civil servants, the better part of council’s
clients are from the informal sector and both are paid in local currency, there
is no justification for the increase,” she said.
Mrs Mupasiri-Sani said it was always good for City Parking
to engage stakeholders before hiking fees.
Speaking for the Zimbabwe National Organisation of
Associations and Residents Trust, Mr Shepherd Chikomba said the increases on
maternity fees was unacceptable especially coming from the city fathers whose
duty and mandate is to cater for the ordinary resident.
“We are worried about this development. We are in the
middle of crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and families are finding it
very difficult to afford a single meal per day and they just hike fees without
consulting residents,” he said.
“Government should intervene otherwise we are doomed. They
have to account for the revenue they have been collecting all along and they
have to justify how did they came up with those figures in US dollars.”
Mr Chikomba said the $50 was unacceptable since the city
has not upgraded its parking facilities to levels that warrant them to charge
that amount. Herald
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