Gweru Mayor Martin Chivhoko
By Correspondent
Gweru City Council is owed over ZiG11 million and has resorted to the use of debt collectors.
In February Mayor Martin Chivhoko revealed that they had exhausted all alternative channels.
“We could do a lot to improve service delivery, hence the need to engage a debt collector to force defaulters to settle their debts,” he said.
Chivhoko said as of December 2023, council was owed ZWL$71 billion, up from ZWL$54 billion in October.
He said businesses owed the local authority ZLW$37 billion, residents ZWL$26 billion, while government departments owed ZWL$7,7 billion.
However, the initiative has drawn reservations from residents.
A quoted official with Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association (GRRA) has called for patience.
Cornelious Selipiwe, Director for GRRA said the move is too presumptuous.
“It is our plea that you suspend the process and allow dialogue to take place.
“We therefore suggest you provide residents a period to settle what they owe council,” he said in a letter to Council.
However, council has expressed concern over payment defaults amid reports that some residents last paid their rates 10 years ago.
This has led to poor service delivery due to inadequate funding.
Again, government has been exerting pressure on Local Authorities to recover more money from debtors.
