GWERU City Council will soon install prepaid water meters in a bid to improve revenue collection and curb defaulting residents who fail to settle water bills, a senior council official has said.
Stephen Chadenga OWN CORRESPONDENT
Mayor Hamutendi Kombayi said the local authority would roll out a pilot project before it was fully implemented.
“The installation of prepaid water meters will start as a pilot project before it is fully rolled out to all households,” he said.
“Prepaid water meters will enable us to deal with defaulting residents who evade paying their bills and at the same time boost revenue collection.”
The municipality is owed close to $7 million in rates and unpaid water bills by residents.
Gweru will join other cities like Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare, who have plans to install prepaid water meters.
Residents, however, have been maintaining that water is an inalienable right, with those in Bulawayo last year demonstrating against the local authority after it announced plans to introduce prepaid water meters.
