Midlands Correspondent
KWEKWE — Residents who owe Kwekwe City Council more than US$2,400 in unpaid bills face the prospect of having their properties attached and auctioned as the local authority moves to recover part of its US$60 million debt.
The council has begun legal proceedings against high-value defaulters, with Finance Director Rejoice Maweni-Dandira warning that property attachments will increase as the local authority intensifies efforts to recover outstanding revenue.
The move places indebted homeowners at risk of losing their properties if the debt recovery process proceeds to attachment and auction, as the council seeks to raise funds for service delivery and infrastructure development.
Maweni-Dandira revealed the development during the local authority’s 2027 budget consultative meeting with ward development committees and ratepayers’ associations, where she outlined measures being taken to improve revenue collection.
“We have taken various measures this year to recover the debt owed to the local authority. Minimum service delivery standards require local authorities to collect at least 80 percent of the money they are owed by residents,” she said.
“We are therefore taking legal action against residents who owe the local authority more than US$2,400. Residents often complain about poor service delivery and blame the local authority, and that is why we are taking these measures.”
She warned that more property attachments could follow if residents continued to default on their bills, linking improved collections to the city’s ability to finance development projects and provide essential services.
“We shall be witnessing more of these property attachments as we intensify efforts to improve revenue collection. If we do not improve revenue collection, we will remain stuck without development in the city,” she said.
As at September 30, the council’s total outstanding debt stood at US$60 million, with residents and ratepayers accounting for the largest share at US$32 million.
Commerce and industry owed US$11 million, while Redcliff Municipality, which relies on Kwekwe for water supplies, had an outstanding debt of US$6 million.
Government departments, including Kwekwe General Hospital, owed the council US$3.4 million, further straining the local authority’s finances.
Maweni-Dandira said the council was also pursuing government debt, arguing that the failure by public institutions to settle their bills was undermining its operations.
“We are providing water to government departments but they are not paying the local authority, so we have a challenge. We have, however, engaged the Ministry of Finance. We are now crippled as a local authority,” she said.
The council’s debt recovery drive comes amid pressure on local authorities to improve revenue collection while maintaining essential services such as water provision and infrastructure development.
