The Harare City Council is on a collision course with residents after the city fathers this week demanded a minimum of $150 before they can reconnect water to defaulters.
BY SILENCE CHARUMBIRA
This comes after the city fathers disconnected up to 1200 defaulters in March owing amounts of over $500 per household. According to the council, the majority of the defaulters had not paid for the service since July 2013 when debts were cancelled.
Last week Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo asked residents to come up with payment plans. Chombo was speaking in Mbare when he toured a business complex that is being built along Simon Mazorodze Road. “What the residents just need to do is approach council and suggest a workable payment plan because the service is not free,” said Chombo.
Mayor Bernard Manyenyeni who was also took part on the tour, said they had received some “ridiculous” offers from some residents that they could not take.
“We received an offer of just $1/month from one resident which surely is not reasonable,” said Manyenyeni. A number of residents this week said they had been turned away after they had gone to the council offices with the hope of being reconnected.
“We went there with the $50 that we had managed to raise, but they refused to reconnect us and said we had to bring another $100 before they can reconnect us,” said a Mbare resident.
But Harare Residents’ Trust director Precious Shumba advised those that had not been connected to reconnect their supply on their own.
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“The Mayor of Harare is fast losing touch with reality and is behaving like a schoolboy who wants to be seen to be singing for his safety,” said Shumba.
He said council’s demands were unjustified, outrageous and a new way of extortion.
Shumba said the City of Harare has repeatedly called upon residents to pay, yet they did not want to accept that the people were poor and struggling to even raise money to buy food, for transport and other basic necessities.
Shumba attacked town clerk Tendai Mahachi for failing to engage residents on issues to do with service delivery. He accused Mahachi of lacking appreciation of the people’s struggles and living standards as the chief executive officer of the capital city. City of Harare spokesperson Michael Chideme refuted claims that council was demanding $150 for reconnection.
“Harare City is not turning away anyone with money to pay towards their bills. The city has taken a humanitarian face in cases involving the elderly and is reconnecting their water supplies after satisfying itself that they have no capacity to pay the bills,” he said.
“The issue of a minimum US$150 that you make reference to is not true at all. We accept any amount but still urge our residents to make payment plans that they can adhere to on a monthly basis or within the agreed time frame.” He encouraged ratepayers to pay their current bills while they negotiate how to settle their arrears.
