BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) has reportedly lost $1 million in potential revenue since the launch of its water-shedding programme two months ago, it has been learnt.
Report by Staff Reporters According to the latest council report, BCC financial director Kempton Ndimande told the finance and development committee that the local authority should brace for a cash squeeze due to water-shedding. “The impact of the water-shedding on revenue collection had been low turnout of people coming to pay and make payment arrangements. This is because people are now finding alternative water sources such as boreholes and burst pipes. This leads to low revenue receipts,” Ndimande said. “In the long run, the billing on water will result in low revenue as people will be having long periods without water. In the month of August 2012, cashflows have gone down by about $1 million compared to July 2012 cash collections.” Council introduced a 48-hour weekly water-shedding regime in July before increasing it to 72 hours per week following a sharp drop in water levels at its three remaining supply dams. Ndimande said the implementation of the water-shedding regime made it impossible for the local authority to compel residents to pay through disconnections. “If shedding is in Nketa, we cannot disconnect the area and we jump to Cowdray Park on a particular day of shedding. This is administratively clumsy and planning for disconnections and follow-ups is made difficult,” he said. Ndimande added: “Consumers normally respond in masses when we disconnect and complete an area in a short period of time. This cannot be achieved now because of shedding as we have to move from one area to another. There has also been an increase in reports of burst pipes in the city. “Plumbers from the engineering services department, water section, do not complete their disconnections as they will be attending to increased bursts in the city as a result of shedding.” Meanwhile, BCC will soon launch a call centre and an education campaign on how residents will benefit from it. Town clerk Middleton Nyoni yesterday confirmed the development, but could not divulge the exact date of the launch.
