The Municipality of Chitungwiza has launched a door-to-door campaign to recover approximately ZiG$160 million owed by ratepayers.

According to a statement from acting town clerk Japson Nemuseso, the exercise commenced on October 3 and will continue until October 17. Said Nemuseso:

Our teams will be moving around residential areas and business centres with point-of-sale machines, allowing you to pay bills from the comfort of your own homes, offices or business.

The team compromises of uniformed municipal police officers and cashiers and cash payments are accepted.

In an interview with NewsDay on Sunday, Chitungwiza Municipality spokesperson Tafadzwa Kachiko explained that the decision to conduct a door-to-door campaign was driven by ratepayers’ reluctance to visit banking halls to settle their bills. He said:

The blitz is targeting residential, commercial stands, institutions and industries. Previously, we waited for people to visit banking halls and that did not really work.

This exercise targets every ratepayer, but mainly those who defaulted on paying rates. We are looking at at least 30,000 properties.

We are bringing the payment services to the residents’ doorsteps. They could have been failing to visit our revenue offices hence door-to-door collection.

There are, however, instances where we experience challenges with the internet. Our efforts to upgrade the systems have also been affected by insufficient funds. Ratepayers can also use the banks to pay their dues.

Kachiko said Chitungwiza faces numerous service delivery challenges due to funding shortages. He urged ratepayers to pay their bills on time to ensure prompt responses to issues like sewer bursts, which require fuel for service vehicles.

Tendai Mareya, chairperson of the Chitungwiza Business Community Trust, said the council should have consulted residents and ratepayers before implementing the blitz, as it could impact them.

While he acknowledged that the initiative might increase council revenue, he warned it could also lead to fraudulent officials targeting residents.

More: Pindula News