Harare City Council letting us down

Columnists
IT is with great concern that I respond to the issue pertaining to the city of Harare being sued by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) over their continuous failure to collect refuse in the city suburbs.

IT is with great concern that I respond to the issue pertaining to the city of Harare being sued by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) over their continuous failure to collect refuse in the city suburbs.

The city council was fined US$3 800 after having been warned by the agency to collect the refuse in June 2009. Needless to say the money that will go to pay for this fine will be from the ratepayer. This is the same ratepayer who has to pay an exorbitant rates bill, and who has to painfully watch as what he has paid for is not delivered. It is disheartening to note that the city council has to wait until it is sued to actually execute its mandate. Council has made collection of refuse to appear to be some sort of privilege for residents yet it is a service that residents are paying for. As long as council demands payment of rates the collection of refuse should be mandatory. The city council should be brought to book for billing residents and sending threats for services they have not rendered. The city council should seize from bullying residents and use the resources they are directing towards these threats to actually provide services. It is about time that something be done for council to begin to realise that we the residents can no longer go on being robbed in broad daylight by men and women that call themselves the city fathers and yet openly prioritise the purchasing of luxury cars before conducting their duties. It pains me that these men and women can go and sleep well at night while we the residents suffer the agony of watching our loved ones die of cholera simply because we lack men and women in leadership positions with integrity and a heart for the people.For the city council to not even realise the efforts that the residents are putting in initiating clean up campaigns is discouraging and to add insult to injury they continue serving us with letters of final warning with rate bills that are beyond most of our incomes. This simply can not go on. We the residents have been threatened and manipulated by council for far too long. The council should be reminded that residents have been patient for long enough and if they continue to take us for granted we will be forced to take action.

Concerned resident,Harare.