BULAWAYO — Companies in Bulawayo have approached the city council for more relief despite the local authority offering a 50% discount on rates owed.
The council extended the grace period for companies to settle their outstanding levies by three months to September, after the previous offer provided $1,2 million relief to local firms.
In January, the country’s second largest city announced a cocktail of incentives, among them a once-off 50% discount on amounts owed if the arrears were settled before June 30 in a bid to ease the burden on Bulawayo’s struggling industries.
It also relaxed its intensive water rationing schedule and waived penalties and interest rates on accounts owing.
But a report by the council Finance and Development Committee showed that many companies were still struggling to pay and had approached to have their debts cancelled, allowing them to invest in capital projects.
“This is probably just the tip of the iceberg as unemployment in Bulawayo is at its peak,” the committee said.
But the city said it could not broadly accept the request as the companies were already enjoying a 50% rebate.
A number of companies in the city have been placed under liquidation in Bulawayo since the beginning of the year, several of them voluntarily to evade creditors. — The Source
