COH says private residents owe over US$100 million

Zim Now Reporter

The City of Harare has said that private residents are the culprits for over 60 percent of the unpaid ZWD 5 billion due to the local authority.

Acting COH Finance Director Godfrey Kusangaya said this during the launch of a new effort to collect overdue payments in Harare on Monday morning.

“..we are being owed over ZiG5 billion... Unlike in the past, a huge amount of the money is coming from residents…. This time residents owe us around ZiG3 billion whereas the remainder is coming from commerce and industry,” said Kusangaya.

The amount translates to more than US$185 million at official rates, putting the private residents' burden at over US$100 million.

Zim Now was unable to establish the estimated number of households in Harare to estimate how much each resident could ostensibly owe or what period the debts have been accrued over.

COH has clashed with ratepayers and residents over poor service delivery. Some areas that are charged refuse collection bills every month never see the service, and residents often resort to dumping rubbish anyhow.

Water distribution has been another area of concern, with some areas of Mabvuku not having received any tap water for over a decade.

A commission of inquiry set up to look into COH operations has so far unearthed many irregularities and possible criminal actions on the part of elected and appointed personnel.

Kusangaya said that there are several key revenue streams where the council needs to improve its collection efforts to address the growing debt, but he did not reveal details.

In the past, COH has resorted to cutting off water supplies to coerce residents into paying outstanding bills.

At one point, the government stepped in and cancelled all outstanding bills. But this was prior to an election and was perceived as a vote-buying gimmick.