COUNCIL HOPEFUL OVER MOPANI RATES PAYMENT
THE Kitwe City Council (KCC) says it is still waiting for Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) to honour the written promise of settling the balance in property rates.
Mopani last week paid K8 million and committed to settle the balance of K21.2 million in five days starting from the date of the commitment letter which was July 1, 2020.
Last week, the council set bailiffs on the mining giant to recover money in property rates but later agreed that the money be settled in instalment after Copperbelt Permanent Secretary, Bright Nundwe, intervened.
“The mining firm promised that it would within five days honour its written promise and pay us the remaining amount and we are still waiting,” Town Clerk Mbulo Seke said.
Mopani had not paid property rates from January to June, this year despite having been offered debt swap options by the council.
The council’s resolution on the 1.65 ngwee rate levy was published in the gazette on October 14, last year and in the print media. Two days later, the local authority invited leaseholders to inspect the valuation roll which inspections ended on November 11, last year.
On October 11, 2019 the council passed a resolution to propose the rate levy from 1.6 ngwee in 2014 to 1.65 ngwee under the 2019 valuation roll. But Mopani last week stated that the rate had been increased by 600 percent and disputed owing the council K54 million in mining property rates.
Mr Seke hoped that the mining giant honoured its promise as soon as possible to help in the smooth running of the local authority.