The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) says it is now owed ZWL 31.4 billion by Government, industry, commerce and domestic debtors.
This has led to the local authority struggling to source inputs thereby compromising on service delivery.
“The total debt at 30 November 2022 stood at ZWL 31.4 billion. Consumers are encouraged to pay bills on time and make payment arrangements whenever they are unable to pay by the due date,” said Mayor Solomon Mguni in his end-of-year message.
The local authority has been struggling to collect garbage on a weekly basis and Mguni revealed that the “refuse vehicle compactors have been sourced and Council will be taking delivery of them in the near future.”
On housing, the mayor said council allocated 498 stands (Pumula South 117(pre-sale), Emganwini 267 and 114(under private developers).
The city has a housing waiting list topping over 100 000, according to council, with less than 30 000 housing stands availed in the past decade despite a growing number of people in need of houses.
The Mayor said the city continued to battle with water shortages which have been made worse by the electricity outages.
“Provision of water is currently erratic and is worsened by the electricity challenges which are affecting pumping and water treatment. The city regrets the inconvenience caused. May you please bear with us and we promise to do everything in our power to minimise the problem,” he said.
Mayor said that the council was determined to weed out corruption in the local authority adding that “our doors are open to people who will help eliminate corruption to report such practices to our administration.”
As a parting shot, Mguni said, “As a Council, I assure you of our unwavering commitment to the provision of improved municipal services in 2023. To achieve this mandate, we must each recommit ourselves to the development of the City. I encourage the people of Bulawayo to continue to work as a strong team. I wish you all prosperity in 2023, good health, love and peace. God bless you.”
