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    Furore Over Water Billing System

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    Sharon Chigeza

    MUTARE – Disgruntled Mutare residents are making their voices heard against what they perceive as an unfair and opaque water billing system implemented by the Mutare City Council.

    Protests erupted earlier last week, with residents calling for a transparent and accountable system for water billing.

    The source of discontent lies in a recent hike in water bills, which many residents claim is unjustified.

    They argue that the new system lacks transparency, making it difficult to understand how charges are calculated and dispute any discrepancies.

    Many residents suspect their water meters are malfunctioning, leading to inflated bills. They demanded proper meter readings and a system for reporting and rectifying errors.

    “We are a small family of four and we barely spend the day at home but to my surprise I received a bill that is actually worth that of a commercial property. I did not see anyone come over to take any meter readings and my question now is on how they came up with such a figure,” said Martin Sauriri, a resident of Chikanga high density suburb.

    “If it is a new digitised system of billing they are using, then it definitely is not working well. In only one month my water bill has doubled and yet most of the times we did not have water supply due to burst pipes. The council has to answer to such discrepancies because these figures do not make sense,” said Precious Makoni, another Chikanga resident.

    A resident from Hobhouse high density suburb, Denzel Chikukwa said his water bill had left him confused as to which currency the local authority was using and demanded clarity on the billing system and currency in use.

    “The jump in figures is not making sense at all. This has actually left me puzzled as to whether this is a currency transition problem or my actual water consumption. They do not come over to take any meter readings and all of a sudden I have an unexplainable water bill that does not tally with my household consumption at all,” he said.

    The Mutare City Council has been criticised for failing to adequately explain the new billing system and the factors influencing water charges. Residents are demanding clear communication and public education on their billing estimates system.

    For many residents, the increased water bills place a significant strain on their already stretched budgets and they are calling for a review of the billing system to ensure affordability, especially for low-income families.

    Several residents last week also took to social media their petitions outlining their grievances and demanding a meeting with council officials to address the issue.

    The local authority, through the council spokesperson, Charles Sadondo acknowledged the public outcry and promised to investigate residents’ concerns.

    “Council is in the process of procuring prepaid water meters to replace the non-working ones to avoid such discrepancies. However, the estimated charge was also reduced taking into consideration the residents sentiments that estimated charges were a bit on the high side,” he said.

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