TENDAI BHEBE IN BULAWAYO
The Victoria Falls City Council this week cut off water supplies to residents and businesses after they failed to pay their bills for the past three months, it has been learnt.
The municipality is owed ZWL$500m by ratepayers, the money which can be used in the quest to improve services and ensure residents continue to enjoy quality water services, according to the city’s mayor, Somvelo Dhlamini.
“The City of Victoria Falls wishes to notify its valuable residents and stakeholders that the water disconnections exercise of 20 December 2021 is a result of a full Council resolution of 10 November 2021. It is aimed at recovering debt which is crucial for the delivery of services in the resort city,” Dhlamini said.
He said the local authority is found between the rock and the hard surface as it is expected to deliver uninterrupted water services against a myriad of production costs, while it is cognisant of the adverse effects of Covid-19 to the world and the community of Victoria Falls.
“Council is in agreement that the community of Victoria Falls deserves quality and uninterrupted services and that comes at a cost despite economic challenges which inevitably have a ripple effect on service delivery. Residents and stakeholders are therefore encouraged to settle their bills or approach Council for reasonable payment plans.”
Victoria Falls City Council has over the years been courting investors for its US$15m Wash project which will result in an overhaul of the whole water and sewer system.
Council has been struggling to supply water to the growing population owing to challenges in pumping and limited capacity of its reservoirs.
Victoria Falls Combined Residents Association chairman Kelvin Moyo said the initiative by the Victoria Falls City Council was to try and recover some money that they are owed by the residents.
“And what council has done is they have made a 30 day run-down towards the date for the commencement of the cutting of water supplies to the respective residents and stakeholders with big debts,” Moyo said, urging ratepayers to agree a payment plan with council.
Moyo said the government should deliberately have a policy that would assist Victoria Falls as a city as Covid-19 pandemic affected most of the ratepayers.
“For the stakeholders that are in business we have been looking to say if they can have perhaps some tax exemption of some sort for them to try and come back into business.
“For some residents, the Covid-19 assistance funds that have been given should also be given to the Victoria Falls people, because they are most of the affected people in the town not only in Zimbabwe but the whole of Africa or in the world,” he said.
Moyo added: “This is because we have had some serious challenges as far as the travel bans and restrictions of our source markets so that is one of the key things. You would agree with me to say Victoria Falls as a destination and as a city has got a mono economy that primarily depends on tourism and that tourism for the past one year and a half has not been there.”
