Local govt ministry tells councils to cut water supplies to govt departments over unpaid bills

LOCAL authorities should disconnect water supplies to government departments that fail to pay their bills, Local Government and Public Works permanent secretary Tafadzwa Muguti has said.

He was speaking at a workshop in Kadoma Monday which was attended by town clerks, secretaries and chief executive officers from all 92 local authorities.

Muguti said central government could not expect councils to meet performance targets and deliver services while government departments themselves failed to settle their bills.

“We should all understand that the moment central government does not pay bills to local government, we are removing spanners and screws on a car’s wheel, and it will be in an accident.

“So we can not have a sense where we are making you sign performance contracts and then we do not deliver on those performance contracts.

“It has to balance and this is where we as the central government have been making a mistake,” Muguti said.

His remarks come amid longstanding concerns over government departments accumulating unpaid rates, water bills and other service charges owed to councils.

Last year, Beitbridge Municipality said government departments were among its biggest debtors, with the local authority seeking to recover $14.1 million in unpaid rates, service charges and water bills.

The council said the arrears were hampering its ability to implement capital projects and maintain water supplies to residents.

Harare City Council was also owed ZiG9.5 billion by various ratepayers as of 2026, with government accounting for 3.4% of the outstanding debt, according to council figures.

Under Zimbabwe’s Urban Councils Act, councils have powers to recover unpaid rates, including charging interest on arrears and pursuing legal recovery in qualifying cases.

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