via RBZ struggles to pay water bill – The Zimbabwe Independent 29 August 2014 by Wongai Zhangazha
In a development which symbolises Zimbabwe’s liquidity crunch, the Harare City Council recently cut off water supply for more than two weeks to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) — banker and advisor to government and bankers’ bank and lender-of-last-resort — over a debt of more than US$500 000, the Zimbabwe Independent has established.
According to RBZ sources, the central bank owes the city fathers a total of US$522 764,69 in unpaid bill, leading to the water supplies being cut off.
Last week, RBZ and Harare City Council officials were locked in a series of meetings negotiating a payment plan.
The sources said the negotiations led to RBZ paying about US$80 000 of the bill.
Efforts to get a comment from RBZ public relations officer Alson Mfiri were fruitless as he had not responded by the time of going to print to questions sent to him last week.
Harare City Council spokesperson Leslie Gwindi could not be drawn into discussing the issue, saying he was not at liberty to give details on the matter and referred questions to the RBZ.
In June, government gazetted a Bill that will ensure it takes over RBZ debt as part of reforms at the central bank.The gazetting of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (Debt Assumption) Bill would bring relief to companies and individuals that have been waiting to get their dues for years.
RBZ has a debt of US$1,35 billion.
The Bill seeks to provide settlement of certain liabilities incurred by the bank. In terms of the Bill, the State will assume the debts which were incurred by the RBZ before December 31 2008.
“Under this clause, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development on behalf of the state will assume the responsibility for the discharge of outstanding obligation of the RBZ under agreements and instruments of prior debts which are subject to validation and reconciliation,” the Bill read.
According to the Bill, the prior debts of the RBZ that are subjected to validation and reconciliation totalled $1 122 276 923,83 inclusive of arrears.
Some of the creditors whose debt is subject to validation and reconciliation include NMB (US$2,34 million), Zimplats (US$34,1 million), Mimosa (US$57 million), corporates Foreign Currency Accounts (US$131 million), Anglo American (US$103 million), parastatals Foreign Currency Accounts (US$99 million), gold bonds (US$43,7 million) and Non-Governmental Organisations Foreign Currency Accounts (US$25,77 million), among others.
Local authorities nationwide last week made a decision to cut debts by between 40% and 50% owed to them by commercial, industrial and institutional customers as a way of encouraging the payment of the bills.
Government departments as of May owed Harare City Council US$15,5 million and industry and commerce US$130 million.
COMMENTS
All those long promised ” special imported coins ” might help in paying off gono’s debts ??????
if no water at RBZ just buy bottled water – problem solved !! maybe with the new coins !
What we want to know is – what did RBZ do with the money??? We want to see VOUCHERS, TILL SLIPS accounting for all bank expenses since April 1980. Spendthrifts using money the bank does not earn. Get rid of the ostentatious ugly building for a start.
While all those monies were disappearing from the componies and NGo’s the country was going down fast,so What did they use the Money for???someone should answer this an Audit has to be done B4 we are forced to pay ,Those who owe Rbz must pay back first,we know its top Zanu Guys,Hw can abank borrow an individual Us30mln ?Gono and his Master are the first Culprits they must pay back
come to think of it the RBOZ is a complete joke – if they cant pay their water bill why should individuals be expected to ?
If they cant pay their bills then we are truly a basket case of a country. Thank you Zanu for stuffing our country up.
Shout Zimbabwe, shout: ‘Zimbabwe will never be a colony again; kkkk’.
Surely with a Reserve Rank that deserves to be under curatorship, a ruling party that can not sponsor its own highest priority events, such as the Youth league & Women’s Conferences could we ever be a colony again?? Who in his sorry mind would want to colonize such a burden, for all we know states a colonized to the benefit of the colonizers. Unless, Mugabe in his made mind doesn’t appreciate this. So, yes no one would colonize such a ‘Sorry State’. I guess, Mugabe being a ZANU PF genius had it in mind all along: ‘Destroy the country & by design make it uncolonizable’. Ooooh what a genius, Gushungo is.
THANK-YOU robert gaybriel mugabe