This comes as HCC is owed $2 273 738 420, with industrial
and commercial clients sitting on a huge debt of $1 255 828 875 while the
government owes $63 643 469.
The local authority claims its failure to adequately
provide service delivery to residents is due to this delinquent behaviour by
ratepayers.
At the moment, Harare residents are up in arms with the
council as most parts of the capital have gone for weeks and months without
running water.
Refuse collection is non-existent in most suburbs while
sewage streams have become a common sight on the streets.
“The debt has stalled service delivery prompting council to
blacklist defaulters. Council is struggling to provide services such as refuse
and water because only 25 percent of ratepayers are paying.” HCC said in a
social media post yesterday.
HCC finance committee chairperson councillor Tichaona Mhetu
highlighted the issue when he presented the 2021 budget proposal last week.
Mhetu said council should execute an effective debt
recovery plan by forming an alliance with Zesa Holdings for an effective debt
collection exercise.
“On blacklisting delinquent customers, engagements with a
Financial Clearing Bureau are on course and this will bring immediate results
through access to debtors’ database hence there is need to expedite this
process.
“Increasing payment platforms and revenue collection points
is important to bring convenience to customers. Given that the existing General
Valuation Roll (GVR) is outdated, council should have a GVR in place by
December 2021 to capture the true value of properties commensurate with each
property,” he added.
“The council has also proposed that the government take
over the legacy debt of the water treatment chemicals and electricity so that
they can funnel the money they receive from tariffs towards making water
operations sustainable,” Mhetu said. Daily News
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