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City
of Harare neglecting its responsibilities to citizens
Harare Residents'
Trust (HRT)
April 08, 2009
Residents of Harare are extremely concerned by the
behavior of Town House. Rates being charged are way beyond the reach
of the majority. Some of the councillors are backtracking on their
promises to engage residents at all times when they have concerns.
Most worrying is the apparent drive to sabotage the work of the
new council by the council's employees, particularly the decision-makers.
The
Harare Residents' Trust (HRT) wishes to put it on record that
we hold the Town Clerk and his heads of departments responsible
for crafting a budget that does not reflect the sources of incomes
and state of the economy. These are technocrats who lack the necessary
understanding of residents' expectations.
In the last
two weeks residents have received bills indicating they should pay
between US$150- US$250 for residential properties in the high density
suburbs. Those bills are unrealistic, unjustified and unacceptable
to the residents of Harare.
The City of
Harare has to go back to the drawing board and craft a budget that
respects the wishes of the residents. The HRT appreciates the desire
by the City of Harare to turn around the fortunes of the capital
but they have just become unreasonable. But it is unwarranted for
them to award each other hefty salary perks and luxurious incentives.
The culture of the old one-party government of extravagance and
system manipulation by the bureaucracy has to go and respect the
inclusivity of the unity government even at local government level.
Residents are
a major stakeholder of the municipality and they should be engaged
by their councillors in the wards. Failure on the part of the councillors
to effectively represent the residents in this matter will leave
residents with no option but to resort to other strategies to restore
their stake in the administration of Town House.
We request the
council to do the following in relation to the high bills;
1. Holds publicly
announced meetings and engage at least 20 percent of residents
in each ward where the councillors and the bureaucrats explain
their proposed budget and these high bills.
2. Councillors need to move away from partisan politics and engage
residents in a systematic way that promotes inclusivity.
3. Seriously consider the state of the economy, analyze the rate
of employment, cost of monthly food basket, and reflect on the
ability of the residents to pay those exorbitant rates.
The HRT is currently
urging residents to pay what they can afford in the region of US$10
until the City of Harare has put its house in order.
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