Bulawayo City Council Considers Hiking Rates

Bulawayo City Council is considering raising service charges for water, refuse collection and leases by up to 42 percent to help balance its books.

This is against the MDC-run municipality’s pledge to protect ratepayers against arbitrary increases, in line with the opposition party’s 2018 election manifesto. The Daily News reports that the issue is high on the agenda of the next full council meeting set for next Wednesday.

Mayor Solomon Mguni referred questions to Finance committee chair, Silas Chigora. Chigora confirmed the development although he could not be drawn into shedding more light on the matter. Sources who spoke to Daily News said the new fees will be part of a supplementary budget to be tabled soon.