By Admire Chitsungo
The City of Kadoma has held its inaugural Ratepayers Incentive Draw aimed at rewarding residents who consistently settle their bills on time, while encouraging improved revenue collection to support service delivery.
The event, attended by Town Clerk Malvern Dondo, Chamber Secretary Willard Mangwengwende, Finance Director Faustina Zhou and councillors, formed part of activities marking the city’s Silver Jubilee celebrations commemorating 25 years since Kadoma attained city status.
Speaking during the event, Mayor Nigel Ruzario commended residents and businesses that have consistently paid their rates.
“Today, we gather not only to reward our valued residents and stakeholders who have faithfully met their obligations to council, but also to celebrate a spirit of partnership, responsibility and community development that continues to move our city forward,” said Ruzario.
He said revenue collected from rates enables council to maintain roads, improve water and sanitation services, collect refuse and rehabilitate infrastructure.
Ruzario said council was also pursuing a number of development projects, including housing schemes, commercial infrastructure development, road rehabilitation programmes, waste management improvements and renewable energy investments.
The mayor encouraged residents with outstanding bills to engage council and utilise available payment arrangements and incentive programmes.
According to council, only 812 ratepayers qualified for the draw out of approximately 35 000 accounts in the city after meeting the set conditions, which included clearing arrears by 28 February 2026 and maintaining balances below US$10.
Finance Director Zhou urged residents to continue paying their bills to enable council to improve service delivery.
“We urge residents to continue paying their bills so that the city can diligently perform its duties and improve service delivery across all areas,” she said.
Zhou said council was planning to expand the initiative in future.
“We are looking forward to hosting a much bigger event with bigger prizes, including ward-based incentives, so that more residents can benefit and participate,” she said.
A resident who attended the event, Emmerson Machando, welcomed the initiative, saying it could encourage residents to settle outstanding bills.
“This is a positive development by council because it encourages residents to pay their bills and contribute towards the development of the city,” he said.
The incentive draw saw several residents receiving prizes in recognition of consistent bill payments.
