Suburban
THE City of Harare has informed residents and ratepayers about the challenges being experienced on the mobile money platform Ecocash which many use to pay their municipal bills.
Suburban Reporter
In a notice on Wednesday, the municipality advised residents and ratepayers that the service provider was working on the issue and had given assurance to restore normal service.
“Dear Residents and Ratepayers, we are currently having technical challenges with our Ecocash payment platform. Those who have transacted using the platform be assured that your funds are safe and will be credited to your accounts. We are manually crediting the transactions. The service provider has been engaged and has promised normal service by October 8, 2021,” the City of Harare
Corporate Communications Division said in a statement posted on council’s social media platforms.
Residents have been complaining about the City of Harare’s billing system saying even when they make payments via mobile money banking platforms such as Ecocash or through e-banking facilities such as internet banking or mobile banking, the municipality was not capturing their payments.
According to the residents, they kept getting bills including balances they would have already paid and sent proof of payment to the City of Harare but no avail.
This results in residents and ratepayers getting inflated bills and also get charged interest on the presumed outstanding bills when they are sometimes paid up.
Harare residents took to the municipality’s social media platforms to register their displeasure over the council’s shambolic billing system.
Below are some of the responses from the residents:
Martha Naftara: Your bills are not accurate please rectify them so that when we pay and it reflects correctly.
JNz JNz: When are you going to reverse property tax you are overcharging Msasa Park homeowners?
Mollify Zvenyika Mutuke: I paid my bill sometime in July through Ecocash but mari yacho hapana pari kuratidza kuti (nothing shows) it (payment) was credited on the statements that followed. The debt remained the same. I forwarded the POP (proof of payment) to one of your emails and no response to date.
L Muzondiwa: My account is up to date. However, your systems are not updating my payments and every time I receive a bill I will be in arrears, which is not true and its accumulating each month. May you kindly correct this. Thank you
Augustine Moyo: Morning but you take too long to update the account especially (if) I pay thru CBZ Touch. We expect it to updated within the shortest possible.
Nosia Chipika: Account not updated after payment being made in August through RTGS. Kindly respond.
