Ratepayers query council bills

Suburban Reporter

Some residents this week questioned the bills they are getting from the City of Harare particularly the part on water consumption which they said was too high given they do not have council tap water most of the times while refuse collection remains largely chaotic with most households not getting the service.

Discussing their latest bills on the Zimbabwe National Organisations of Associations and Residents Trusts (ZNOART) Harare WhatsApp platform, the residents demanded explanations from City of Harare officials who are also on the platform but with no responses coming forward in what has become a familiar fashion of council officials ignoring inquiries from ratepayers.

One of the residents shared their bill for a property in Bluff Hill in which they were said to have consumed 20 000 litres of water worth ZiG$531 yet the area does not get consistent water supplies from the City of Harare.

The Bluff Hill resident said their family was small with no children but only four adults who all spend most of their time at work during the week while on the few occasions they get council tap water, it will be unclean and unfit for consumption. The resident wondered how much bigger families with more members were paying. Their bill amounted to ZiG$1 207.

Commenting on the matter, other residents said the Bluff Hill ratepayer had made the mistake of paying the inexplicable bills and the City of Harare takes advantage of such residents to lump them with more high bills to cover up for the non-paying property owners.

Residents wondered why the City of Harare always slap consistently paying residents with high bills every month yet those who do not pay are given reasonable bills.

“Council is very funny; they employ people to leave bill statements of estimates on dry taps by the door but the same people who deliver the statements can’t do (water) meter reading. I don’t get it!  A lot is not right at Town House!

“Panosiiwa bill pamba (when they leave the bills at properties), what stops meter reading at same premise?” observed one resident.

Added another resident: “I had the same problem too. You clear to zero and they give you a bill three times than what you had.”

Residents encouraged each other to stop paying council bills until the City of Harare fixes its billing system and send water meter readers to do the actual readings and not base water bills on estimates.

“This is very cruel. 500ZIG for no water or for a single day of water per week,” lamented a resident.

The residents vented their frustration over the City of Harare officials’ failure to respond to the bill inquiries ratepayers were posting on the group.

“Why is CoH (City of Harare) quiet, I wonder,” said a resident.

Residents said the City of Harare was poor at communicating with residents as its stakeholders even when they are raising genuine concerns about the affairs of the city.

“COH, is very poor on communication, @Gama (Stanley Gama city spokesperson) ne PR dzacho unoshaya kuti saka we as residents tisu tirikubhadhara pay dzavo, tisu varungu wavo. Zvino unotoshaya kuti saka munhu arikuswera achiitei mu office (you wonder what they spend their time doing in the offices because as the ratepayers who pay their salaries you would expect answers),” said a resident.

Another one added: “The American Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was forced to resign after failing to provide basic information in the wake of the assassination attempt on Trump, it’s high time we subpoena these directors at CoH, grill them, force them to resign for gross incompetence, and even prosecute them, why can’t they answer just basic questions?” Others were of the view that it was not even necessary to take the trouble to subpoena the council officials saying the only option was to stop paying until the municipality fixes its mess.

“I have stopped paying my bill because of these ridiculous estimated bills. Izvozvi taane week kusina mvura then bill rouya riri 1500ZIG that’s more than 100usd. (We don’t have water for a week then the bill is ZiG$1 500) A family of four people toita (to have) that bill. We have to stop paying kusvika wagadzirisa (until they fix the billing mess),” said a resident.

The discussion heard that nothing seems to work at the City of Harare.

“Nothing works right at Harare City Council. I guess PR inoshaya chekutaura. (public relations run out of defence) I really wonder kuti (what) top management inoudzana chii (tell each other) in their meetings. Uncollected garbage iri muri mutown (in town) inoda (needs) night shift collection for possibly two weeks.”

In March, Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume said the city’s shambolic billing system is such an embarrassment that even he as the mayor and a councillor cannot explain and justify.

Cllr Mafume told a special full council meeting called to discuss the procurement of an ERP (billing system) that he was even failing to explain the bills to his family and his wife was always on his case teasing him that he could not justify the bills yet he was the leader of the council.

“We are stuck in a conundrum that we cannot bill properly. Our bills…. (are not justifiable). Even my bills, I do pay bills as mayor, there are no exemptions for a councillor, I can’t understand my bill. Every month it is four times higher than it was (the previous month). I am having problems with my wife, honestly, she is saying ‘You are running the city you can’t explain your bill’. It is terrible. Every time my wife talks it (the bill) comes back with vengeance, it’s like a mosquito. You pay it off it comes back angrier than it was. How can we have such a billing system and not be alarmed with the expertise we have among ourselves?” said Cllr Mafume.

Senior council officials have previously admitted that they charge residents who pay consistently higher bills to compensate for the non-paying ratepayers.