By Rungano Dzikira
In a notion exposing the MDC-led Harare City Council (HCC)’s rot, Highlands Residents Association is seeking for pledges amongst residents to restore its pitiable service delivery which has gone to the dogs over the years.
Appreciating the deplorable state of services delivery in the area, the residents’ association wrote a memo appealing for ‘meaningful’ monthly pledges from residents.
According to a service delivery proposal memo intended for the residents, the association said, “Harare our city is in a crisis. At our meeting on the 15th of October 2019, was heard a distressing candid report from Cllr. Mapfume on the state of our local authority.”
“Tell us how much you would be prepared to pay each month to support this effort…If by the end of November we have received pledges from residents of over ZWL 150 000 per month, we will be in contact to move to the next step,” read the proposal.
In a plea aimed at encouraging meaningful contributions, the association wrote, “Remember your average bill two years ago was in the region of USD 100 or USD 200 per month – this equates to ZWL 1 500 to ZWL3 000 per month today. We will need a significant number of residents pledging a meaningful portion of their previous rate bill to make this work,” they appealed.
Over the years, the city council has gained notoriety for poor refuse collection in most of Harare’s suburbs, gross incompetence, corruption and failure to prioritise crucial service delivery issues at the back of the council’s hefty salaries.
