via Audit reveals chaos in Mutare | The Zimbabwean 16 July 2014 by Kenneth Matimaire
The City Council’s leases are in a shambles with some leaseholders not paying their dues since 2009, an audit report has revealed.
The report cited a number of irregularities in the administration of council leases. “A number of lease agreements have since expired, but the dealers are still operating…others have not been paying their dues since 2009, and the recoverability is doubtful,” stated the report.
A total of 18 leaseholders have not paid since 2009 while 12 have expired or are non-leaseholders. The defaulters include Valley Bricks and Mutare Sports Club, who owe the local authority $84,315 and $20,707, respectively.
“This is also an indication of lax supervision on potential internal revenues of Council, and subsequence of internal controls in the respect that can create a high risk environment for fraudulent practices by council employees,” states the audit.
It also revealed that 32 percent of water meters readers in Mutare are no longer functional, and the local authority has no mechanism to replace them. Out of the 24,723 water meters only a mere 7,898 are still functional.
“The new challenge is that people tend to abuse the water because they know that the council is not billing them,” said city engineer Donald Nyatoti. Council was looking at either erecting new or prepaid meters in order to account for all its water usage, he said.
“There are benefits for both the council and the consumers, who will be able to manage their water usage conveniently. Prepaid meters assist with managing cash flow for both consumers and local authority,” Nyatoti said, adding that the council was effectively billing only 47 percent of its water, resulting in serious loss of revenue.
COMMENTS