MASVINGO City Council has warned that it might soon run out of cash to procure water treatment chemicals, as the ratepayers’ default rate had increased substantially over the past few months.
BY REGIS CHINGAWO
The local authority is owed close to $31 million in unpaid rates, according to minutes of a council meeting held early this week.
“Consideration was given to the report of the city treasurer on high-density debtors’ reconciliation for the month ending July 2016,” the minutes read in part.
“The city treasurer highlighted that the debtors’ ledger was increasing due to non-payment of council bills. It was reported that the opening balance for low-density suburbs, including institutional, was $31 million.
“The city treasurer reported that the residents were defaulting on paying off their bills, thus, the debtors’ ledger was ballooning each month. The city treasurer highlighted that if such a trend of non-payment of council bills was left unchecked, council will soon fail to provide basic services, culminating in failure to procure water treatment chemicals and payment of staff salaries, which were now two months in arrears among other things.”
The city council also noted that the collection rate for bills raised was 50,59% for July compared to 63,22% the previous month.
Council has already introduced debt collection services in low-density suburbs, commercial and industrial areas.
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Currently, the local authority is debating whether to extend debt collection services to high-density areas, amid reservations from some councillors, who fear that the move might prove unpopular ahead of the 2018 elections.
