Masvingo City Council Forced To Slash Rates

Masvingo City Council has succumbed to pressure from residents and climbed down on its decision to increase existing rates seven-fold.

City’s acting town clerk Edward Mukaratirwa announced on Thursday announced that the local authority had now increased the existing rates by 21 percent instead of the 700 percent earlier announced at the end of a special full council meeting Thursday. In a statement, the city said:

City of Masvingo would like to notify residents and rate payers that it has reduced the minimum water band translating to a reduced minimum water charge for high density areas from $260 to $130.

The basic household bill from $602 to $472. The effect of this is that residents will pay less in fixed charges and their bill becomes more dependent on water consumption.

The development came after residents, through their representative Masvingo Residents and Ratepayers Alliance (MURRA), had threatened to default payment of their monthly bills in protest over the hiking of existing rates.

MURRA spokesperson Godfrey Mutimba applauded the council’s decision to review tariffs downward and also appealed to the council to look for more ways to reduce the tariffs further.

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