Mutare City Council owed $50m

THE Mutare City Council is owed about $50 million in outstanding debts by residents and ratepayers, with the figure said to be ballooning with each passing month.

In a statement, council said Government departments and other corporates were the major debtors.

“Council is owed $50 million by residents, Government departments and corporates and the figure increases every given months as people default on their monthly dues,” read part of the statement.

Council public relations officer Mr Spren Mutiwi said they were facing difficulties in recovering the debts from the ratepayers.

“Council in its bid to recover the outstanding amount is busy engaging residents with a view to coming up with payment plans,” he said. “The process is going on well, as people prefer engagement instead of punitive measures.

“Secondly, we have come up with payment plans and residents are being encouraged to take advantage of the window period to settle their dues.”

Mr Mutiwi said the process was being frustrated by some ratepayers who were not honouring their payment plans.

He encouraged them to follow through their payment plans with council.

“The process has its own challenges, most of the people who entered into the payment plans are defaulting and council has not been able to derive meaningful revenue from this,” said Mr Mutiwi. “We encourage residents to stick to their payment plans.

“For those who have defaulted we will surrender them to law firms who are enforcing the debt collection process on behalf of council. Some of the residents are resisting the process, and that has also affected the council’s revenue generation. For some we encourage setoffs especially corporates whom we also owe.” FARMERS in Manicaland who failed to meet the May 15 planting deadline for winter wheat are making a last-minute rush to put their crop in the fields to ensure optimum yields.

In an interview, Manicaland provincial agronomist Mr Thomas Sakuhuni said he was confident of bumper yields in the province despite planting delays in some areas caused by late disbursement of inputs.

“The recommended deadline for optimum yields is May 31 and we are pleased to say most farmers had completed their planting by this date save for a few,” he said.

“A few farmers in the Middle and Lowveld areas of Makoni, Mutasa and some parts of Mutare districts, however, are still rushing to conclude planting.”

Mr Sakuhuni said the major challenge faced by the late planters were delays in getting inputs.

He urged those farmers who had fallen behind schedule to expedite their planting process to attain the maximum possible yields.

“Those farmers who have fallen behind the planting schedule can still plant up to mid-June although research has shown that yields can fall by 50kg per hectare per day after the May 15 deadline,” said Mr Sakuhuni.

“The highest yields are realised from the crop planted between the 1st and 15th of May but farmers can plant up to May 31. Some farmers may even push up to June 15 for the very late crop due to conducive temperatures.