Talent Gore
HARARE City Council is owed $1,5 trillion by ratepayers and the municipality is facing a financial crisis due to low revenue collection.
By the end of last year, the council was owed $783,2 billion.
Town Clerk, Engineer Hosiah Chisango, said that low collection efficiency could lead to inefficient resource allocation, inability to meet service demands, inability to invest in infrastructure and increased debt.
He said the Council has reached an all-time low in revenue collection because it has not made reasonable efforts to collect what it is owed.
“While we are focusing on service delivery, there is concern on the box of revenues, the city was owed $783,2 billion by all ratepayers and the figure has increased to $1,5 trillion as of February 29, 2024,” he said.
“While the Zimbabwe dollar figure is increasing, the value of the debt continues to go down due to the movement of the exchange rate.”