The City of Gweru (COG) has, through the Messenger of Court (MOC), served 421 defaulting residents with final letters of demand as the council takes the legal route in a bid to recover $2.6 billion it is owed for rates and other services.
Early this year, a number of homeowners from the Senga area had their properties attached by the MOC at the instigation of the local government authority to force ratepayers to settle outstanding bills.
As of December 31, 2021, the council was owed $1.1 billion which rose to $1.7 billion in May and now it’s at $2.6 billion and rising, according to the Chronicle.
In an interview with the publication, COG public relations officer Ms Vimbai Chingwaramusee confirmed the development and said ratepayers had lost an appetite to settle their bills. She is quoted as saying:
The City of Gweru has through the Messenger of Court (MOC) served 421 defaulting residents with final letters of demand as council takes the litigation route in a bid to recover $2,6 billion it is owed for rates and other services. Of the 421 final letters of demand 159 have been executed meaning if they don’t pay, they will end up losing their valuables.
She said residents owe the council over $1.6 billion followed by industry which owes over $400 000 and the Government departments which are over $207 000.
The COG announced the 2022 budget of $4.9 billion in United States Dollars using the interbank rate, a development that has resulted in a sharp surge in bills.
According to a statement for the month of June-July sent to one of the residents, the bill has increased from about $3 500 to $13 600 while another statement has a bill rising from about $2 491 to $25 404 in the same month.
COG finance committee chairperson Councillor Martin Chivhoko recently said a USD budget was justified considering that the council was also operating in a hyper-inflationary environment.