Bulawayo owed over ZWL31bn

Zim Now Writer

The City of Bulawayo is owed over ZWL$31 billion by its debtors, Bulawayo Mayor, Solomon Mguni has said.

In his end of year report, Mguni said: “The total debt as of November 2022 stood at ZW$31.4 billion. Consumers are encouraged to pay bills on time and make payment arrangements whenever they are unable to pay for services.”

The money owed has crippled service delivery and the procurement of critical inputs as the debtors, who include government, industry, commerce and residents, are failing to pay for services rendered to them.

The mayor added that failure to pay suppliers within 30 days has resulted in the number of suppliers who demand cash upfront increasing, which in itself also means stock levels of critical input materials are low as some suppliers refuse to provide these on credit.

Overall, the City Council’s work has been made more difficult given the obtaining economic hardships.

The City has, meanwhile embarked on a massive fire awareness campaign to minimise preventable accidents in order to reduce the costs Council incurs after revelations by the Mayor that Bulawayo had lost property worth over ZW$494 276 900 to fires.