By Staff Reporter
Kwekwe Mayor Cllr Albert Zinhanga has appealed to residents, ratepayers and government departments to settle their outstanding bills, saying the local authority is prioritising dialogue over legal proceedings to recover what it is owed.
Speaking to journalists soon after a full council meeting, Cllr Zinhanga said recent engagements between the city and the Ministry of Home Affairs had resulted in the government department making payments towards its debt, demonstrating the effectiveness of negotiation.
“Some people might think we went the legal route to collect the money. No, we have not gone the legal way because the government is a stakeholder,” he said. “We engaged them at high-level offices and the engagement has been successful.”
Cllr Zinhanga said the same approach would be extended to residents and other institutions still owing the city, urging them to visit council offices to discuss settlement options.
“We are saying let’s engage,” he said. “If residents are having financial challenges, please come to the offices. We sit down, we discuss and we make payment plans that are flexible and create a win-win situation for the council to continue running.”
He emphasised that the city had deliberately stopped issuing legal notices to households in recent months to give residents time to approach the council voluntarily.
“At the moment you have not seen legal papers going to residents,” Cllr Zinhanga said. “We are encouraging everyone who owes the city to engage us so that we plan together. The city can only carry out its day-to-day operations if these bills are honoured.”
The mayor said consistent revenue inflows were essential for service delivery, including water supply, refuse collection and road maintenance.
