By Correspondent
Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has shockingly revealed that in 2025 it estimated an average of 69 percent of the bills issued to residents after failing to read water meters.
Only 31 percent of consumers received bills based on actual recorded usage.
The admission comes amid mounting complaints from residents who say their monthly water bills are excessively high and inconsistent with the erratic supply being experienced across the city.
In many suburbs, households reportedly go for five days or more without running water.
This has raised questions over how consumption is being calculated.
According to the latest council report, the billing process is designed to begin with physical meter readings to determine the volume of water consumed.
“The billing process begins with reading of meters to ascertain the volume of water consumed.
“Regular reading of meters helps consumers to detect leakages in their pipes, monitor and manage water usage and also identify the status of their meter,” reads part of the report.
However, council acknowledged that capacity constraints and operational challenges resulted in the majority of bills being generated through estimations rather than verified meter readings.
Resident Complaints
Residents argue that estimated billing has contributed to inflated charges.
These do not reflect actual consumption, particularly during prolonged dry spells when little or no water is available.
Ratepayers have since called for improved efficiency in meter reading and greater transparency in billing calculations.
The introduction of digital systems to minimise reliance on estimates has also been proposed.
The revelation also highlights administrative and revenue collection challenges facing the local authority.
BCC depends heavily on ratepayer payments to fund water treatment chemicals, infrastructure maintenance and pumping operations.
Bulawayo United Residents Association’s chairperson, Winos Dube has since taken a swipe at the local authority.
Dune said saying for quite some time residents have been complaining about their high bills with the local authority playing innocent.
“It is worrying that they admit now that they have been estimating these bills.
“Yet we have been complaining about these unexplained high bills when most of us go for over five days without water, while council claimed there was nothing amiss.
“This is something that has to be investigated as a matter of urgency because it honestly does not make any sense at all,” said Dube.
