The ManicaPost
Abel Zhakata
Senior Reporter
CASH strapped Mutare City Council whose daily revenue figures have drastically fell by more than 80 percent since the country moved to Level Four lockdown on January 5 is not in a position to repair badly damaged roads in the city anytime soon.
The local authority’s public relations officer, Mr Spren Mutiwi, revealed this week that council is receiving an average of $900 000 per day against $8 million the local authority was collecting daily before the lockdown.
“We are in a tight financial position because revenue inflows have dropped since the pronouncement of lockdown Level 4,” he said.
“Ratepayers are not visiting our banking halls to pay rates because of the Covid-19 regulations and this has badly affected our daily takings.”
Council, said Mr Mutiwi, is an essential services provider and despite the dry financial coffers the local authority is expected to operate and provide services.
“We are caught between a hard surface and a rock. Our managers are doing a great job to balance the equation. With the little figures we are getting, we want to make sure that we attend to the provision of basic services like the provision of water, attending to burst sewer pipes and refuse collection.
“We know that the current incessant heavy rains have badly damaged our roads, putting the entire city’s network into disarray, but presently we don’t have funds to do the repairs,” he said.
Heavy rains which are being experienced across the country have left scars on the city’s road network.
Potholes cover the length and breadth of most roads and in some locations bridges were swept away making the suburbs inaccessible.
Despite providing daily refuse collection timetables the local authority is struggling to keep pace to clear garbage.
Heaps of uncollected garbage have since mushroomed in high-density suburbs, creating breeding grounds for communicable diseases.
“At times, we experience fuel shortages as well as machinery breakdowns. With the little funds available it means council’s capacity to execute its duties in terms of service delivery is hindered. We are trying to spread available resources across all essential sectors and ensure that we provide something in these difficult circumstances,” he said.
Mr Mutiwi said ratepayers are slowly embracing the online rates payment system the local authority has put in place.
“Due to new technologies, we now have an online rates payment system. However, only a few clients are using the platform. We want to remind people that they should pay their bills from the comfort of their homes without visiting our banking halls. It is fast and efficient.”
