THE GREATEST CITY HEIST
Shock over huge council bills Residents sign petition
Tendai Chara
HARARE residents recently got a surprising belated gift from council.
After months of trying to update its billing system, the local authority finally managed to do so in March.
But there was one problem: Unbeknown to some ratepayers, the bills reflected the 2 800 percent rate hike effected in January.
Imagine receiving a billing statement showing that you owe your local authority thousands of dollars in unpaid rates despite not being a defaulting ratepayer?
It was a nasty surprise.
Adding salt to injury is the fact that residents now have to pay steep charges for services that are poor or non-existent.
City roads continue to deteriorate, while refuse collection is disturbingly irregular.
It is the same for many other services that are offered by the city.
Most residents fear they are going to lose properties for failing to settle “abnormally high” bills, which range from as low as $2 000 to as high as $10 000 for some households.
More than 5 000 residents have since signed a petition expressing concerns over the newly gazetted rates. They want the local authority to slash the charges by half.
“Council is saying the rates are backdated to January. Honestly, where do they expect me to get such a huge amount of money? The economic situation is tough. My income has not changed over the past months. I will only pay what I can afford,” argued Annah Maposa, a widower and pensioner who resides in Harare’s high-density suburb of Budiriro.
She recently got the shock of her life after her bill topped $8 000 early this month. She is not alone in this predicament. Arnold Matika of Dzivaresekwa also finds himself in a fix.
“I am unemployed and can therefore not afford the $7 000 that council is demanding,” a distraught Mr Matika said.
“What is even more disturbing is the fact that they are increasing rates while their service delivery is getting poorer with each passing day.”
Others are challenging City of Harare’s billing system.
“I have never skipped paying my rates. How then does council explain my abnormal bill, which is arguably the highest in my neighbourhood from what I have gathered?” queried Hatfield-based Gwenzi.
Steep Hike
Last year, the Harare City Council (HCC) approved a $32,7 billion budget for 2021, which experts say is largely being funded by rates.
According to HCC’s budget, an average high-density household is required to pay $1 736 a month for basic services, while a household in medium-density suburbs is expected to fork out $4 558 per month.
High-density residents are being charged $575 for the first five cubic metres of water a month, $565 a month for a once-a-week bin collection, a sewer charge of $250 for each toilet and a minimum property tax of $345.
A medium-density family is expected to pay the same tariffs as low-density suburbs at $765 for five cubic metres of water, $803 for a weekly bin collection and $410 for each toilet, with the property tax on a medium-density house around $2 580 a month.
It would have been acceptable if the local authority fulfilled its end of the bargain.
The wisdom of raising rates at a time when the collection rate is worryingly low is also being questioned.
Council has been plagued by a plethora of problems, which are unfortunately affecting service delivery. Government recently ordered a forensic audit into the operations of the local authority after shocking allegations of corruption against serving and former top officials, including former mayors.
Harare City Council spokesperson Michael Chideme said they had not yet received any formal complaints over the new rates.
“As of now, I am yet to get any formal complaints. As such, I cannot comment on this issue,” Chideme said in an interview with The Sunday Mail Society.
But, Harare Residents’ Trust (HRT) chairperson Precious Shumba insists that residents had handed over a petition to Acting Mayor of Harare, Councillor Stewart Mutizwa.
“The HRT has received legitimate concerns from aggrieved ratepayers who vehemently object to the arbitrary increases in the tariffs being charged by Harare City Council on most services, most of them undelivered,” reads part of the petition.
“An increase in rates billed to residents without considering their incomes and capacity to pay will only disadvantage the ratepayers.” HRT believes council’s move would likely come unstuck as a sizeable number of landlords are either pensioners or unemployed.
“This is unsustainable and will eventually backfire on the City of Harare as more residents default on rates payment. Residents want to pay their dues but the rates being demanded are uneconomic for the poor majority,” further reads the petition.
Vulnerable groups feel they are being given the short end of the stick.
“I don’t think they are considering us with these new bills. I am no longer going to work and also do not qualify to be a senior citizen. This means I am in trouble. Even if I want to pay, my financial situation makes it impossible,” bemoaned a 56-year-old pensioner from Rugare.
Concern
However, the main bone of contention by ratepayers is that they are not “enjoying” services that are billed by municipalities.
In some instances, lucky communities get their garbage collected once in five weeks.
Most of uncollected rubbish has become part of the cityscape.
Refuse continues to pile up in the Central Business District (CBD) and in various residential areas, exposing residents to potential health hazards. In some suburbs, they cannot even recall the last time they saw a refuse truck.
Further, some areas such as Tafara-Mabvuku, some parts of Glen View and Budiriro have not had water supply for years.
Council is said to be supplying only 40 percent of the required 1 300 megalitres for Greater Harare (Highlands and the industrial suburbs of Southerton, Graniteside, and Workington).
Broken sewers are not being repaired on time, and in worst cases, they are never attended to.
The chronic crisis has already caused repeated outbreaks of diseases such as typhoid and cholera, which are potentially fatal.
And residents feel cheated.
“I last received tap water in 2002. However, I get a water bill every month. At times it is surprisingly high. If you check, refuse is not being collected while roads are in a bad state. Personally, I have been paying for a service that I am not receiving for the past two decades,” explained Never Mubako from Tafara.
“We hardly get any water and I do not know why the bill has suddenly increased. Council is charging more whilst it is not delivering,” adds Morven Makotose.
Council, he added, is slow to react to reported water leakages in the residential areas, resulting in treated water being lost.
Most of the revenues generated by the local authority are going towards salaries of its 4 000 workers. On several occasions, it has also failed to pay them. Not surprisingly, the city is failing to honour payments to service providers, including fuel and water suppliers.
Experts opine the rate hike will only lead to increased indebtedness of residents, which is unlikely to be helpful to council.
HRT, however, continues to urge people to continue paying their bills.
“I urge residents to pay as much as they can for now. They should pay something to the council every month, keep their proof of payment. They should continue to be responsible citizens by acting in the public interest all the time,” said Shumba.
“The future looks bright. Under the leadership of Acting Mayor Councillor Mutizwa, there has been a significant shift in the way we relate. There is now openness and dialogue.”