Suburban
THE City of Harare (CoH) has advised residents of the capital that it cannot offer refunds for failure to collect refuse like what happened a few years when the municipality refunded some residents who were not receiving council tap water but continued paying water charges.
Peter Tanyanyiwa Suburban Reporter
Officials from the city’s amenities department said the municipality will not be able to offer the refunds for refuse charges like those given to residents whose taps were dry for long periods.
Speaking at a Ward 17 business community meeting held at Kingdom People’s Church in Mt Pleasant recently, the residents wanted to know if the City of Harare will offer refunds for non-collected garbage as they are doing for lack of water supply.
City of Harare head of amenities Mr Lisben Chipfunde told the residents that council was not able to refund because they still need the revenue from the refuse charges to clear the dump sites where residents dump their uncollected rubbish.
“If you go around most suburbs one will notice that there are a lot of dumpsites which are dotted around the city because we would not have collected refuse door to door. But here is the tricky part we will still have to collect that refuse which is now at dumpsites. Reversing and suspending charges on refuse does not work because the money that residents would have paid is the same money we use to clears the dumpsites. However, we do not encourage illegal dumping,” said Mr Chipfunde.
Some Borrowdale and Hatcliffe residents received water rebates in September 2017 as confirmed by former Ward 18 Councillor Mr Allan Markham. Residents of the two suburbs were not receiving council tap water for varying periods of time.
“Since the beginning of my term as Councillor for Ward 18, we have been battling the issue of fixed water charges, (with the Borrowdale Ratepayers and Residents Association). As both areas (Borrowdale and Hatcliffe) were not on the pumping list, we agreed and passed a resolution at a special council meeting for the 2015 budget year, that Harare City Council would reimburse us the fixed water charges. Mabvuku and Tafara were also identified and covered in the same resolution. Nearly three years later, the rebates are displayed on this month’s rate bill, $309 for Borrowdale. And about $138 for Hatcliffe. This explains the rebate on most bills. However, some Borrowdale areas have not had this, please inbox me if you have no rebate, except the Brooke, (of which I am aware). Hatcliffe we wait in anticipation,” Mr Markham said then in 2017.
The total amount refunded to Borrowdale residents at the rate $309 was $5 million and in Hatcliffe it was $1 million. .
“While this issue is far from complete, it is a start,” Mr Markham said then.
In 2020, Sentosa residents tried to seek refunds from the City of Harare for the water bills they had been paying for several years yet they did not receive council tap water for decades.
The residents resolved to request the rebates from the City of Harare following similar moves initiated by residents of some northern suburbs who received refunds from the municipality.
Sentosa residents said they felt left out because they were also not receiving council tap water for years but never received any refunds.
The City of Harare has been struggling to collect refuse from residents’ houses and business premises. Of late the city has introduced a fortnightly refuse collection schedule but several residents and ratepayers continue to complain that their properties are always left out.
This has led to an increase in illegal dumpsites as residents have resorted to dumping waste on open spaces in their neighbourhoods.
Several of the capital’s suburbs are plagued by illegal dumping sites that could potentially lead to an outbreak of waterborne diseases such as typhoid and cholera.
Treasury recently released to EMA to buy refuse trucks and temporarily manage waste in the face of the inefficiencies at the City of Harare in terms of waste management.
Government’s decision to rope in EMA has been received with mixed feelings with some residents saying this would in a short space of time solve the waste collection backlog.
Some residents feel that council is failing to collect garbage as it is mismanaging funds while others are of the view that council its failure to collect rubbish is due to non-payment of bills by some ratepayers.
