In a statement, the HCC said it was already struggling to
make payments to service providers to ensure water treatment, refuse collection
and pay its workers.
“The City of Harare wishes to advise residents and
ratepayers that the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) last week garnished our
bank accounts demanding full payment of $115 million in outstanding taxes,” HCC
said.
“The garnishee order is adversely affecting the council’s
daily operations as the city cannot honour payments to service providers,
including fuel and water treatment chemical suppliers. This has seen the city
failing to collect refuse in time, resulting in garbage piling up across the
city.
“The city is resultantly failing to pay its workers.
Management is currently engaging the revenue collector to seek relief so that
available resources can be ploughed into service delivery. Revenue inflows have
been greatly affected by the effects of Covid-19.”
Although residents said there was a need for HCC and Zimra
to engage considering the effects of Covid-19, they blamed the local authority
for lack of financial prudence.
“The City of Harare is justified to complain about the
inappropriate action by the revenue authority. However, the City of Harare was
fully aware of their obligations to the tax collector. Despite that knowledge,
they have recruited nearly 3 500 workers since July 2018 through a partisan
process that involved a group of councillors recruiting their party activists
into the council employment,” Harare Residents Trust leader Precious Shumba
said in a statement.
“Covid-19 has worsened the ability of Harare City Council
and other local authorities to purchase water treatment chemicals and fuel,
which both require foreign currency…
“The Local Government ministry has failed to support local
authorities by not appointing the local government board, which has the legal
mandate to finalise recruitment and dismissal of senior council workers.”
Shumba added that without substantive directors in the
finance department, water, human resources and chamber secretary for the past
three years, the situation for the local authority was untenable and
unsustainable.
Community Water Alliance leader Hardlife Mudzingwa echoed
similar sentiments, adding that the maladministration at HCC had become
political. Daily News
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