Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Chipinge Municipality last week started disconnecting water to residents in a bid to recover ZWL$60 million it is owed by residents.
Chipinge Town Council chairman Zivanai Nyakuchena said the huge debt has left the local authority with no money to pay the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) and the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) for water and electricity, respectively.
He urged residents to visit council offices and make payment plans. Said Nyakuchena:
Ward 5 and 6 receive water supplies every day but they are not paying their bills. Disconnecting water is an exercise to push them to pay.
The smooth running of service delivery has been adversely affected because we also need to raise money to pay ZESA and ZINWA so we can in turn supply water to residents.
We encourage all ratepayers to approach council for payment plans.
The debts date back to 2013 when Government wrote off water bills owed by residents ahead of the harmonised elections.
Since then, residents felt no compulsion to pay their bills regularly, said Nyakuchena.
However, Chipinge Town Residents Community Association chairman Amato Rungano urged council not to disconnect water to residents because of the harsh economic circumstances compounded by successive COVID-19-induced lockdowns.
