In the community

Hwange sues residents over $100m debts

Published

3 years ago

September 18, 2021

BY NOTHANDO DUBE

The Hwange Local Board is taking legal action against ratepayers to recover over $100 million in outstanding bills arguing that efforts to persuade defaulters to pay up are hitting a brick wall.

Ndumiso Mdlalose, the town secretary, said legal action was the last resort for the local authority in Matabeleland North after various strategies to persuade residents to pay their outstanding bills failed.

“We have rate defaulters that have gone beyond 120 days, and we have issued them with final demand letters, and from our computation we are owed more than $ 100 million in non-paid rates,” Mdlalose said.

“We exhausted all other means to try and convince the defaulters to pay.

“We were then left with one option, taking the legal route because the challenge we have is that people are reluctant to pay.”

Council said $14 million of the debt accrued over the past three months.

At the beginning of the year the local authority embarked on various strategies to recover the money, which door to door debt collection and sensitisation programmes by councillors.

Mdlalose said the strategies failed to yield results, hence the decision to opt for litigation.

“If we had that $100 million, we would have done a number of projects which would have seen us meeting most of our obligations,” he said.

Empumalanga Phase I, Mpumalanga’s DRC section and Baobab’s T-Section are the

suburbs with the highest number of defaulters, the local authority said.

Fidelis Chima, Greater Whange Residents Trust coordinator, criticised the decision to take legal action against residents saying it was too harsh.

“The Greater Whange Residents Trust is very much worried about the move taken by the Hwange Local Board to take ratepayers to court at a time when the local authority is struggling to service stands at Phase Four, Baobab extension and Empumalanga West,” Chima said.

“Most of the residents that are likely to be affected are pensioners and low-income earners and the Hwange Local Board should come up with payment plans and continuously engage residents on service delivery issues. “

Most of Hwange’s residents were employees of the Hwange Colliery Company, which has been struggling to pay its workers and those that it laid off over the years.

Hwange

Hwange Local Board impounds cattle: Owners urged to claim animals

Published

4 days ago

December 18, 2024

VicFallsLive

BY WANDILE TSHUMA

The Hwange Local Board is urging livestock farmers to come forward and claim their cattle that were impounded by Council Police last week.

According to a notice issued by Acting Town Secretary Paul Mabhureni, the 10 animals have been unclaimed for over a week and are currently being held at the impound yard.

Farmers with missing cattle are advised to visit the Hwange Local Board offices to identify and claim their animals.

A daily fee will be charged for each impounded animal, and if the animals remain unclaimed after a month, the Council will auction them off .

The Hwange Local Board is also warning livestock owners to take responsibility for managing and controlling the movement of their animals to prevent them from encroaching into residential areas.

Council Police have increased patrols to reduce the presence of stray animals in these areas.

Residents are encouraged to report any stray livestock to the Council immediately.

Hwange

Victoria Falls City Council meeting aborted due to lack of quorum

Published

5 days ago

December 17, 2024

VicFallsLive

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

A full council meeting scheduled to take place at the Victoria Falls City Council today was aborted due to a lack of quorum.

The meeting, which was initially scheduled for Thursday, was fast forward to today in the wake of reports of confusion at Town House.

The meeting was called to discuss the suspension of Town Clerk Ronnie Dube who was suspended two weeks ago on corruption allegations.

It was further reported that it was also to rescind the Housing Director Brian Nyamande.

However, only five councillors attended, falling short of the required six to form a quorum.

According to Mayor Tuso Moyo, the meeting was urgent, but the lack of quorum prevented any progress.

However, residents’ associations disputed this agenda, stating that the meeting was against the will of the residents and that they were expecting it to take place on Thursday.

Hwange District Residents Association and Victoria Falls Combined Residents’ Association representatives and a few residents were gathered outside the boardroom, awaiting the outcome of the meeting.

The suspension of Dube has sparked controversy, with many calling for transparency and accountability.

The aborted meeting has only added to the uncertainty, leaving many questions unanswered, HWANDRA chair, Hebert Ncube said after the meeting.

“We also gather that the minister, Daniel Garwe, has summoned the two and the mayor, deputy mayor to Harare tomorrow where they just came from again last week. There is so much pressure to rescind the suspension of Dube, but we are saying, he should come here and talk to the people and let justice handle this, then he can be rescinded.”

Hwange

Hwange Local Board cracks down on overdue license fees

Published

6 days ago

December 16, 2024

VicFallsLive

BY STAFF REPORTER

The Hwange Local Board has issued a stern warning to business owners with overdue license fees, stating that trading licenses for the 2025 license year will not be renewed for commercial properties with outstanding accounts.

According to a notice issued by Acting Town Secretary Mr. Paul Mabhureni, “Hwange Local Board would like to advise the business community that we will not renew trading licenses for the license year 2025 to all commercial properties whose accounts are in arrears.”

The notice further states that “The Business License Renewal period for the license year 2025 commenced in November 2024 and ends on 31 December 2024.”

Additionally, the notice reminds business owners that, “In terms of the Shop Licences Act Chapter 14.17, no person shall in any shop, store or other fixed place of business, carry on the trade or business of selling or letting for hire any goods except in terms of a shop licence.”

Business owners who fail to renew their licenses within the stipulated timeframe will face penalties, including a fine of one-twelfth of the appropriate license fee for each month or part thereof that has elapsed since their liability arose.

The notice concludes by advising business owners to ensure that their premises are inspected prior to renewing their trading licenses, and urging cooperation in settling outstanding accounts to avoid disruptions to their operations.