MUTARE Most residents who fall below the low salary threshold are failing to pay their rates at a time when the council has....partnered non-governmental organisations and banks to improve services.
Councillor Brian James told The Zimbabwean that since the adoption of the multicurrency, several households and business had failed to pay up their bills.
Council is owed over US$3m in areas by defaulting residents. Residents are failing to pay up their bills because most are unemployed. The charges are reasonable but per capita income is artificially low.
He added that the low salary for civil servants had set the general wage standard for the city.
Eight per cent of our ratepayers earn salaries between US$100 and US$150 per month. It is physically impossible for them to settle utility bills and sustain themselves, so the utilities suffer, he said.
James said 86 per cent of the total municipal account holders were households in high-density areas.
These contribute to 40 per cent of the total revenue billed and 30 per cent to the total collected at this moment.
He urged residents to come forward and negotiate instalments, as the council needed the funds to carry out development work.
Post published in: Politics