CHENGETAI MURIMWA RECENTLY IN GWERU
Business leaders this week snubbed a Gweru City Council meeting organised by the local authority to map the way forward on unpaid rates which are weighing down ability to provide service, Business Times can report.
The business community owes Gweru City Council approximately ZWL$250m in unpaid rates.
Gweru City Council spokesperson Vimbai Chingwaramusee said the meeting intended to map the way forward with the business community on how they intended to settle the bill.
“As at 31 January 2021 we were owed approximately ZWL$400m by residents, businesses and government institutions,” Chingwaramusee said.
“We were hoping that today Tuesday’] meeting was going to find out ways the business community intend to settle the bill but they decided not to show up.”
Chingwaramusee said the local authority was pleading with the business community to settle their debts so as to avoid unnecessary inconveniences such as attachment of their properties or being forced to close their businesses.
Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce president Tinashe Manzungu said he was not aware of the existence of such meeting.
“I am hearing about this meeting from you, we would have attended the meeting if council had invited us. We need such engagements with the local authority,” Manzungu told Business Times.
“They should not just send emails but also follow up by making phone calls they have our contacts in their data base.”
However, Manzungu said council should not expect to collect ZWL$250m using the “normal historic approaches”.
He urged council to engage the business community and also improve their metre reading exercise.
“Sometimes council does not conduct metre readings, they need to improve their efficiency in billing system. “Since we are paying in Zimbabwe dollars they should also come up with a way of billing in US dollars using the official rate,” Manzungu said.
He claimed more than half of Gweru’s new suburbs and business premises are not billed.
“Council has to do something to get all these people and businesses to pay their rates, they should expect more money from these new premises,” Manzungu said.
Last week, the local authority had a meeting with residents and agreed on a payment plan on the amounts they owed.
“We met with the residents and agreed that they ignore the final letter of demand but came up with a payment plan,” Chingwaramusee said, adding the local authority needs about ZWL$75m every month to provide satisfactory service delivery.
