MARONDERA - Residents here have asked city fathers to write off service delivery bills they owe the council, as they can no longer afford to pay debts totalling more than US$160 per household. A full capacity crowd converged on Nehanda hall in Dombotombo on October 20, and told town mayor, Farai Nyandoro, that they could not pay their bills. ,
Disgruntled residents also expressed disappointment at what they said was dishonesty on the part of council accountants.
Payments made for monthly service charges are not deducted on bill sheets. Instead of bills deducted after payments, surprisingly, balances continue to rise. Someone must be cashing in on white collar crime at the accounts branch, a resident told the mayor.
In a bid to score cheap political points, suspected Zanu (PF) cashiers are turning away residents willing to pay part of outstanding bills. This conflicts with an instruction from the mayors office that, households could pay any amount within their means. Most residents can afford at least US$5 out of the US$25 average monthly charge per high density household.
The mayor told residents that it was not feasible to write off outstanding bills, as the exercise would grind council activities to a halt.
I would not want to implement unviable populist policies, he said.
However, he said the council had suspended interest rates on outstanding bills, to enable consumers to clear their debts.
Post published in: World News