By Correspondent
The value of money owed to Harare Council by residents has dropped from US$130 million to about US$100 million within two months.
This is despite the actual debt in ZWL$ growing from ZWL$783 billion to ZWL$1.5 trillion in February.
The oxymoronic shift is driven by the steep change in the country’s Inflation rate.
Zimbabwe’s inflation rate has jumped to its highest level in six months as the local dollar continues its losing streak against the US$.
Annual inflation surged to 47.6% in February from 34.8% a month before, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency said last week.
According to a Bloomberg report, this is actually one of its worst starts to the year since the currency’s reintroduction in 2019.
The debt is further compromising service delivery in the capital city.
Council is struggling to collect rates for essential services like water, garbage collection and sanitation.