CHIPATA RECOVERS OVER K600, 000 IN UNPAID RATES
CHIPATA City Council (CCC) has recovered more than K600, 000.00 out of the outstanding K7.9 million it is owed in rates, head of public relations Kameko Manda has said.
Ms Manda described the development as a milestone achievement, saying that the council was impressed with the results of the recovery exercise targeting the defaulters.
“As at 31 July, we recovered at least K623, 000. The development comes in the wake of the council’s strive to recover K7.9 million owed by defaulting commercial and residential rate payers in Chipata.
“This has been the highest collection ever posted this year.
And we are impressed with the results.
“The exercise will continue and the council has set targets to drive Chipata towards sustainable growth and constant improvement in quality service provision. And to that effect we want to establish a stable financial base,” Ms Manda explained. In an interview, Ms Manda told said that the crackdown on non-complying rate payers was a reminder to people to appreciate the importance of having a functional council that met its obligations of service provision.
“Our council is purely run on money paid from utility services. As a result a break in the cash flow affects council operations. “Unfortunately those that dodge paying such taxes should be aware that they are deliberately disrupting progress and the smooth operations of the council and eventually they will be the ones affected.
“However, it is our duty as a utility company to strive towards provision of the best services for our city,” Ms Manda added.
Ms Manda explained the municipality was working day and night to ensure that the city was fully capacitated to provide refuse collection services, maintenance of markets and street lighting, among others services.
Meanwhile, in-coming Town Clerk, Vivian Chikoti has pledged to improve operations at the council.