City’s reluctance to use local billing system irks ratepayers

Peter Tanyanyiwa Suburban Reporter

Harare ratepayers are wondering why the city council is not making use of the Local Authorities Digital System (LADS) to address its billing woes as the city nears five years running without an enterprise resource planning system.

Commenting on the saga surrounding the procurement of a new billing system for Harare, residents said they could not understand the City of Harare’s hesitance to use the LADS, an ERP developed locally by the Harare Institute of Technology. The residents made the comments on the Ward 18 residents’ online platform where they were discussing the recent revelation that the city’s attempts to buy a new billing system had stalled once, bogged down by bureaucratic and technical bottlenecks.

Ward 18 covers Borrowdale, Borrowdale Brooke, Greystone Park, Helensvale, Crowhill, Hogerty Hill, Umwinsidale, Glen Lorne, Carrick Creagh and surrounding suburbs.

“It’s incredibly frustrating to see the City of Harare continue to struggle with its billing system challenges when a proven solution like the Local Authorities Digital System (LADS) is readily available,” said one of the residents who commented on the matter.

Another resident urged the City of Harare to put aside their selfish needs and prioritise residents’ interests by adopting the LADS billing system that has been used successfully by other local authorities.

“The reluctance to adopt a locally developed system, especially one that has been successful in other local authorities, reflects poorly on the city’s commitment to efficient governance and transparent decision-making. It’s time for the city officials to prioritise the best interests of the residents and embrace solutions that have the potential to address these pressing issues effectively,” said the resident.

Mutare City Council is using the LADS system and last year the Ministry of Local Government urged the City of Harare to use the system too saying it had the potential to address the billing system challenges faced by local authorities.

The reluctance to adopt a locally developed solution, despite its proven success in other local authorities, has raised questions about the city’s decision-making processes and its commitment to addressing the pressing issues related to its billing system.

The situation has also highlighted the need for greater transparency and accountability in the procurement process, as well as the importance of prioritising local solutions that have the potential to address the city’s challenges.

Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume says the failure to acquire a working ERP system is leaving the city with the daunting task of managing a mounting debt including millions in foreign currency owed to water treatment chemical suppliers and finding it increasingly challenging to pay both councillors and workers.

“Even basic tasks like billing, which should be straightforward, are proving to be a challenge. Each time we award a tender, we are forced to make variations, while the local currency we collect from residents continues to lose value sitting in the bank,” said Councillor Mafume.

Last week a special council meeting resolved to meet with the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) over the city’s tender to procure a new billing system.

Harare has been operating without a billing system since 2019 when the city abandoned the BIQ system following a misunderstanding with its South African Supplier Quill Associates over pricing issues.

Quill had increased its price from US$35 000 to US$75 000 and Harare terminated the contract only for the city officials to push for an ERP that costs US$52 million, which central Government and councillors have rejected.

Cllr Mafume said councillors cannot understand what is happening because it appears some officials are determined to thwart any efforts to procure an affordable billing system in favour of the US$52 million one.

One of the bidders who had won scored 89 percent of the score and the minimum qualifying score was 75 percent but council officials submitted to PRAZ and there were other mandatory requirements that that bidder did not meet.

The meeting heard that council officials wanted the winning bidder to include a statement stating that they were going to fund a site visit to their premises by Harare mandarins.