Gweru City Council has resolved to set aside $6 million in the 2018 budget towards the establishment of prepaid water meters, finance director Edgar Mwedzi has said.
By Stephen Chadenga
Mwedzi said council expected to raise the money through public-private-partnerships.
“We believe the introduction of prepaid water meters is long overdue and necessary for consumers, as we would avoid cases of malfunctioning meters,” he said.
“We want to avoid complaints of estimated bills, as well as wrong bills by unscrupulous meter readers.”
Mid this month, the cash-strapped local authority announced plans to introduce prepaid water meters to improve on revenue collection through water sales.
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Residents’ associations, however, vowed to resist council’s plans to introduce prepaid water meters, arguing that the city fathers were failing to consult ratepayers over the programme.
But city fathers argued that consultations they held in various wards showed that most people supported the initiative to introduce prepaid water meters.
Residential consumers owe council $29m, with the total owed to the municipality by debtors standing at $56m as at August 31.