Bulawayo residents have expressed concern over rising property rates charged by the local authority, claiming most people cannot afford them and questioned whether homeowners risked losing their houses if they failed to pay their bills.
Residents also accused the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) of not consulting them before making financial decisions, saying issues of tax justice, fairness and legitimacy needed extensive consultation.
These concerns were raised in a community WhatsApp group for Bulawayo North where residents argued that rate charges were too high and implored the local authority to consider other ways of making income.
“May we know the position regarding property rights in Zimbabwe? Why I am raising the issue is because the way rates are going up is like we are on lease to the local authorities,” said one Benjamin Maketo.
“Most of us bought our properties through mortgage bonds for a gruelling 25 years and what we are being charged by city council is more than what we paid and is like we are on lease from city councils yet we are supposed to be freeholders.”
Maketo said the issue of high bills cannot be solved by the city council without the government outlining the issue of property rights
“Ever since the land reform, city councils have been behaving like all those who bought properties in urban areas are now leasing or that the land now belongs to the local authorities,” he claimed.
“Failure to know whether our land was repossessed by Councils or not is very crucial. If the government explains this position will help us deal with issues of high rates even through the courts.”
Another resident, Charles Bozongwana concurred that rate charges were “grossly unfair.”
“I think the council used to get some revenue to run the council affairs from the sales of Ingwebu, which is no longer the case now, thus the raising up of the rates. The council should look for alternate sources of income and not penalise us for being obedient citizens,” he said.
An unnamed participant claimed the danger in making rate charges so high was the council could repossess residents’ properties to recover what they owed while another resident said “rates should not be the council’s main source of income because it’s too much of a burden.”
This resident noted the council has “many” buildings that it was renting out where it could make money yet “some tenants were paying far less than market rental fees.”
“There’s also a building which belongs to the council that is along Khami road off 11th Avenue that was even growing a tree. I would like to believe there’s a department that is responsible for looking after council buildings and making sure rentals are up to date,” said the resident
A resident identified as Munthali suggested that BCC must revive its safety net programmes to assist vulnerable groups.
“Maybe the councillor should advise on this issue so that people are cushioned. Council needs funds to operate in such an expensive environment where rates are being paid mostly in ZiG,” said the participant.
In response, Ward 2 councillor, Adrian Rendani Moyo, said the council had a rebate facility which gives a discount on rates to senior citizens 70 and above.
However, participants said the rate rebate does not benefit many residents as most were younger than 70 years.
“The rebate is a noble facility and is very much appreciated as a safety net for senior citizens. However, the point it misses is that almost 90 percent of all ratepayers, if not more, are economically vulnerable, exacerbated by BCC’s extortionate rates, and this is regardless of their age groups,” said one resident who asked why residents stand to lose their properties if they do not pay rates.
“The question borders on the rights of citizens to their properties, the protection the constitution gives to citizens in light of a financial crisis not caused by residents.”
The resident added it was worrying that “BCC is not answerable to residents in their financial decision making.”
Contacted for comment, the Ward 2 councillor attributed the residents concerns to the billing system discrepancies but noted the rate fees were calculated according to the size of their land.
“I am convinced the issue was brought about by concerns over our billing system. A lot of residents have complained about high bills which also reflect consumption charges that are not a true reflection of the current water supply situation. The result therefore is that residents are raising questions about the entire billing system,” Moyo said.
The counsellor acknowledged that the billing system needed to be reformed saying “clearly, it has room for improvement.”
“However, I have asked residents to come forward with evidence so that we can address this holistically,”Moyo said.
“Also, we shall hold a series of meetings where we shall educate residents about our billing system.”
