MUTARE– Council has launched a city wide water disconnection blitz targeting defaulting ratepayers who owe council millions of dollars dating back to as far as 2009.
Council spokesperson, Spren Mutiwi confirmed the development saying disconnections affect property owners ignoring cautionary notices.
Mutiwi said council ratepayers who fail to take action after receiving notification letters, to negotiate settlement plans and payment modalities are enjoying service delivery financed by others.
“It’s a City wide exercise that we have undertaken. We are disconnecting property owners who have not paid their dues from December backwards some way back from 2012 and 2009.
“We are issuing out 24 hour notices to all the property owners who are in arrears stretching back from December 2020 backwards.
“We cannot have a scenario where other people subsidize others in terms of financing service delivery issues. It’s shocking that we have property owners who never paid anything in 2009 until to date and some have not even December 2020 dues and these are targets,” said Mutiwi.
This cost recovery exercise has however been described by a residents representative body, as insensitive to the plight of largely informal residents adversely impacted by the Corona virus pandemic.
In a statement, United Mutare Residents and Ratepayers Trust (UMRRT) expressed concern on widespread water disconnections, urging council to adopt alternative la to improve revenue collection as well as addressing billing irregularities to avoid estimate charges.
The statement said disconnections are permissible in isolated cases, as wide spread blitz are retrogressive human rights violations, ironically committed duty bearers, enjoined to guarantee protection, enjoyment and realization of said rights.
UMMRT said water disconnections disproportionately affect vulnerable residents already facing acute water shortages in violation of the right to water and sanitation equally guaranteed without discrimination.
“While UMRRT is cognizant of the fact that Council needs revenue to provide quality services, using water disconnections as a strategy is not the best way to go about it. It is a violation of the human rights enshrined in the Zimbabwe Constitution section 77.
“Water is a basic human right and its absence poses a great health risk especially during a pandemic.
“Due to the economic constraints in the country, further compounded by the pandemic, residents have been left incapable of affording the cost of living. Most businesses are closed and source of income is low as such bills are unaffordable for most residents whose sustenance is dependent on the informal sector,” read part of the statement.
UMMRT urged council to reconnect water and uphold human rights to sustainably manage and address water woes in Dangamvura to motivate residents against defaulting on service rendered.
Council remains adamant that residents should negotiate with the municipality in good faith instead of defaulting, as it negatively affectts the quality service delivery provision.
Mutiwi said despite the ballooning accrued debt now affecting viability, council is still open to negotiated payment plans.
“Council is open to any payment plans and we are very mindful that we are in a difficult economic environment but there should be some level of commitment to settle the dues not to completely disregard the same.
“We are owed more than ZWL 500 million and that has affected service delivery in general,” said Mutiwi.
