By Flata Kavinga
The Municipality of Redcliff owes the City of Kwekwe approximately US$5.5 million for bulk water supplies, with low revenue collections from residents continuing to undermine the local authority’s ability to settle the debt, Finance director Lindiwe Hwata has said.
Speaking to journalists after a full council meeting, Hwata said the municipality receives monthly water bills from the City of Kwekwe ranging between US$170,000 and US$200,000, but is only able to pay what it collects from residents.
“Our debt to Kwekwe City is now around US$5.5 million,” Hwata said. “Every month we are billed between US$170,000 and US$200,000. However, in terms of collections, we only receive about 25 percent from residents, and that is a big challenge because it affects the water supply from Kwekwe City.”
She said the municipality collects between US$35,000 and US$40,000 per month from water charges and remits those funds to the City of Kwekwe.
Hwata said the municipality is currently operating under a weekly payment arrangement with Kwekwe City and hopes to improve payments if revenue collection increases.
