Mayor blames old meters for shocking bills

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BULAWAYO mayor Martin Moyo has blamed old water meters for huge water bills some households have been receiving recently.

BULAWAYO mayor Martin Moyo has blamed old water meters for huge water bills some households have been receiving recently and urged residents to have them checked to eliminate reading errors.

JUNIOR MOYO OWN CORRESPONDENT

Speaking at a residents’ meeting held at Mpopoma Community Hall recently, Moyo admitted that some inflated water bills council was sending residents could be due to malfunctioning meters or human error.

“People should understand that some of the water meters are too old and they need to be tested to find out whether they are working properly or not,” he said.

“If you are not satisfied with your water bill, you need to go to council offices with your current readings and verify them because there can be a mix-up of numbers by those who read water meters.”

He also urged residents to check for tap leaks and to buy new water meters to ensure accuracy in meter reading.

“The solution for those with stolen water meters is to buy new ones to ensure that you are not overcharged,” Moyo said.

Residents complained that the water bills they were receiving were unreasonably high and their complaints were often met by rude responses from council officials. They said council hired incompetent officials.

“We have been receiving water bills which are high from the city council and some of our water meters were stolen a long time ago, but we continue to receive bills stating that they are based on actual readings,” a resident said.