Alert -BPRA Past Weekend Activities Report (27 & 28 April 2013)

BULAWAYO’s water crisis, the city’s faulty billing system, and failure by the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) to collect refuse regularly dominated meetings organised by Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) this past weekend (27 and 28 April 2013). The meetings, which were held in Old Pumula, Nkulumane, Entumbane and Mpopoma, were aimed at providing platforms for residents to engage in critical discussions with service providers, councillors and members of parliament. In Mpopoma residents got an opportunity to be appraised by their member of parliament, Samuel Sandla Khumalo on how he utilised the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to develop the region. The ire of the residents was drawn as they were not impressed by what he had to tell them.

Other issues that were raised at the meetings include:

-          Residents complained that their water bills were inflated as they were high despite the fact that they spend three days a week without water. They said it was imperative for BCC to rectify its billing system as residents were being unfairly charged penalties, having their water disconnected and even having their properties seized on the basis of estimated bills. Councillor Rafemoyo in Nkulumane acknowledged that Bulawayo’s billing system was flawed and encouraged residents who receive abnormally high bills to seek redress at the local authority’s offices.

-          Residents were also appraised on Bulawayo’s water situation, with Councillors reminding them of Bulawayo’s dire water situation and encouraging them to use water sparingly. They informed residents that water shedding would continue since the city’s dams did not receive significant inflows during the2012/2013 rain season.

-           Residents alleged that Child Protection Committees (CPCs) were corrupt hence they were not useful as means to identify beneficiaries for social welfare programmes such as the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM). Residents alleged that most people who benefit from such programmes were friends or relatives of members of the CPCs.

-          Concerns were raised at the meetings that Bulawayo was no longer clean, with rubbish strewn all over the place. Residents in Nkulumane revealed that they had resolved to hold a clean-up exercise in their ward on 25 May 2013. Residents said it was imperative for every resident to play his/her part towards maintaining the cleanliness of Bulawayo through refraining from littering.

-          Residents accused BCC of disconnecting water from residents with arrears even in situations where a payment plan has been made. They said this was insensitive arguing that BCC should realise that people have difficulty paying their bills because of high unemployment and low remunerations.

Regards

Information Department

Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association

Bus. Tel: +263 9 61196

Cell: +263 772 516 729

Blog: bprainfo.blogspot.com

Website: www.bulawayoresidents.org

BCC Disconnects Water from Hawkflight Houses

Residents voices - Issue 90

 16 April 2013

THE problems being faced by the residents of Pelandaba West have worsened after the community consisting of over 100 households had its water disconnected by the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) over an unpaid water bill, raising fears of disease outbreaks. The area has no boreholes, and residents are in a dilemma as people in neighbouring suburbs are reluctant to give them water due to fears that their monthly consumption will skyrocket leading to untenable bills. Pelandaba West was constructed recently by Hawkflight Construction and the area has a bulk water meter under the name of the construction company. The meter, that supplies all the houses in the area, has accrued a bill of $20 900. Residents blame BCC and Hawkflight Construction of failing to manage the construction project well leading to the current problems. While the issue is complicated, what is clear is that the account that has been disconnected, which belongs to stand number 1599 Pelandaba West, is under the name of Hawkflight Construction, which indicates that it is the company that has neglected to settle the bill leading to water being disconnected.

Problems in Pelandaba West began in March this year when the residents received uniform letters from Hawkflight Construction informing them that they had to pay amounts of $345.95 each or have their water disconnected. At the time, the residents accused Hawkflight Construction of working in cahoots with uncouth elements in BCC to fleece them of their hard earned cash. Part of the letter which the residents received reads: “Please note that your water is billed under a bulk meter and it has remained unpaid since you took occupation of your house. You are now required to settle your portion in the amount of $324.95 to avoid disconnection. This amount is payable to the Bulawayo City Council (BCC), and the account number is 540159900.” Residents viewed the letter as an anomaly since they have individual meters in their houses and had been receiving monthly utility bills from the local authority.

It has however emerged that the utility bills that the residents had been receiving from BCC did not include a charge for water consumption. All the while, Hawkflight Construction was sitting on the areas’ water bill which is charged through their bulk meter at number 1599. A BCC official yesterday (15 April 2013) confirmed that water in Pelandaba West is supplied through a bulk meter and explained that the land developer in the area is in charge of the water until a handover of the project to the local authority.

BPRA calls upon BCC and Hawkflight construction to ensure that water is reconnected in Pelandaba West as soon as possible to prevent possible outbreaks of diseases in the area and as a simple respect of the rights of the residents to access clean drinking water. The association believes that BCC should take the blame for what is happening in the area, as it is the mandate of the local authority to assume an oversight role on the operations of private land developers and ensure that the interests of residents are protected. It is BPRA’s contention that the residents should be billed individually as is standard practice to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.

Regards

Information Department

Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association

Bus. Tel: +263 9 61196

Cell: +263 772 516 729

www.bulawayoresidents.org

www.bprainfo.blogspot.com

BPRA Engages BCC on Alleged Hawkflight Corruption

Press Release

Date:              12 April 2013

Contact:         Emmanuel Ndlovu

                        Acting Coordinator

                        Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA)

BPRA Engages BCC on Alleged Hawkflight Corruption

BULAWAYO Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) is seeking answers from the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) after residents from the Pelandaba West area recently constructed by Hawkflight Construction were given parallel water bills by the construction company, raising furore from the residents who accused the company of corruption. In a letter written to the Town Clerk, Middleton Nyoni and copied to the Directors of Finance and Housing, Kimpton Ndimande and Isaiah Magagula respectively, the association seeks to know if it is true that residents from Pelandaba West are billed under a bulk meter and why they are receiving water bills from Hawkflight Construction when water provision is a mandate of BCC. According to the letter, the anomaly emerged during a consultative meeting organised by BPRA on Saturday 23 March 2013. Residents speaking during the meeting reportedly accused Hawkflight Construction of working in cahoots with corrupt elements in the local authority to fleece the residents of their hard earned cash. This was after the residents received uniform letters from Hawkflight Construction instructing them to pay amounts of $324.95 or have their water disconnected.

Part of the letter that the residents received reads: “Please note that your water is billed under a bulk meter and it has remained unpaid since you took occupation of your house. You are now required to settle your portion in the amount of $324.95 to avoid disconnection. This amount is payable to the Bulawayo City Council (BCC), and the account number is 540159900.”

Residents however rubbished the assertions by Hawkflight Construction, arguing that they all had individual meters in their homesteads and received utility bills from BCC. They further indicated that the fact that they were expected to pay the same amount of water was suspicious as it was impossible for all families to use the same amount of water.

In the letter to BCC, BPRA requests an investigation by the local authority to unravel any corruption that may be taking place with regards to the operations of Hawkflight construction.

Signed

.........................................................

Mr Emmanuel Ndlovu

Acting Coordinator

Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA)

RESIDENTS ARRESTED OVER ZESA DEMONSTRATION

Press Release

Date:               8 April 2013

Contact:         Emmanuel Ndlovu

                        Acting Coordinator

                        Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA)

 RESIDENTS ARRESTED OVER ZESA DEMONSTRATION

ABOUT twenty-five Bulawayo residents were early this morning (8 April 2013) arrested while staging a demonstration against the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) which they accused of unfairly recruiting from outside Bulawayo when there are many unemployed youths in the city. The residents, consisting of members of the Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) ward 26 committee and members of the Mthwakazi Youth Leaders Resolution were briefly questioned at Donnington Police Station before being moved to Bulawayo Central Police Station where they were still being held at close of business today. Indications are that they may appear in court tomorrow (Tuesday 9 April 2013). While it is not clear what they were being charged with, it could possibly be demonstrating without notifying the police, which is mandatory under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) which is often cited as draconian. The police have in recent months been clamping down on freedom of assembly and freedom of expression, with prominent civil society figures and politicians being arrested. Critics have linked the clampdown to the impending elections as the state seeks to silence dissenting voices in the run-off to the plebiscite.

The residents said they staged the demonstration as they were peeved after they got wind of information that ZESA was in a massive recruitment drive for an undisclosed project covering sections of Bulawayo and Matabeleland North. They revealed that scores of people from outside Bulawayo – numbering between 300 and 500 – had been hired by the parastatal and had been camping in Emganwini suburb in Bulawayo. They argued that this was an example of marginalization of the people of Bulawayo as under normal circumstances people from the city, and those from the other areas where the project would be active should have received first preference for the jobs.

“We decided to stage a demonstration after realizing that our people were being shortchanged by the practices of ZESA,” said Mandula Ncube the BPRA ward 26 chairperson, who is part of the group that was arrested. Added Ncube: “Most of the youth in our community are unemployed and there is a high level of crime in the area due to this. Yet these people bring labour from far away as if there are no capable people here. This was our way of showing our dissatisfaction and anger with ZESA’s corruption and nepotism.”

Residents of Bulawayo and Matabeleland at large have previously bemoaned high levels of corruption and nepotism in hiring practices by public entities, most of which are headquartered in Harare. It has been argued that the people of Bulawayo and other peripheral regions were being systematically excluded from employment opportunities. BPRA has previously called for adherence to the principle of subsidiarity in hiring. The principle of subsidiarity states that issues should be dealt with at the lowest possible level and seek to benefit people at that level. The association has also been a strong advocate of devolution of power, under which hiring would not be centralized but be done at the local level to ensure that locals get employment opportunities. BPRA thus calls upon ZESA to desist from corruption and nepotism when hiring workers, and to give the local people in whichever area they are operating first preference when hiring.

BPRA is also concerned that the country continues to deny citizens freedoms of assembly and expression using draconian legislation. The association thus condemns the arrest of the residents who were engaged in a peaceful demonstration necessitated by genuine concerns.

Signed

.........................................................

Mr Emmanuel Ndlovu

Acting Coordinator

Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA)

Flawed BCC Billing Causing Residents Untold Suffering

Press Release

Date:              18 March 2013

Contact:         Emmanuel Ndlovu

                       Programmes and Advocacy Manager

                       Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA)

FLAWED BCC BILLING SYSTEM CAUSING RESIDENTS UNTOLD SUFFERING

BULAWAYO Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) is concerned that the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) continues to use estimates to bill residents, something which has led to residents being overbilled, causing numerous problems for them. Speaking at service delivery meetings held by BPRA in the past month, residents of Bulawayo have complained that their bills were sky rocketing despite the fact that a three day water shedding programme is currently in effect in the city. Residents argued that the BCC meter readings as captured in their billing system were ahead of the readings that the residents’ meters actually show in their homes. This means that BCC has been billing residents for water they have not consumed. This has particularly raised the ire of residents since some have been charged with water penalties while others have even had their properties seized based on estimated water readings. Others have had their water supplies disconnected.

BPRA thus calls upon the BCC to immediately put measures in place to put its billing system in order, perhaps through investing in more meter readers and desisting from estimated readings. BPRA has it on good authority that the city fathers themselves are aware of the flaws in their billing system, hence it amounts to dereliction of duty that the situation is being allowed to continue unaddressed at the expense of the residents of Bulawayo. Officials from the local authority’s department of finance last year acknowledged that the billing system was prone to overcharging consumers and suggested that residents with misgivings about their bills should feel free to visit their offices at the tower block.

BPRA is however appalled that BCC has made no efforts to inform residents of this anomaly, continuing to behave like its business as usual with residents in arrears (based on the faulty billing system) being charged penalties, having their water supplies disconnected and having their properties seized by the messenger of court. BPRA would like to call upon BCC to stop water disconnections, charging of penalties, and seizing of properties from residents with arrears until problems with the billing system are addressed. BPRA also calls upon the local authority, through its public relations department, to ensure that residents are informed that the city’s billing system is problematic so that they can ensure that they are not billed for water they have not consumed.

Signed

.........................................................

Mr Emmanuel Ndlovu

Programmes and Advocacy Manager

Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA)

BPRA Past Weekend Activities Report (9 and 10 March 2013)

Posted on 11 March 2013

THIS past weekend (09 &10 March 2013), Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) held three consultative meetings in Pumula South (Ward 27), Gwabalanda (Ward 16) and Njube (ward 12). The meetings were meant to provide platforms for residents to engage in dialogue with representatives from Bulawayo City Council (BCC) and the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) on pertinent issues of service delivery related to the operations of the institutions. ZESA representatives however did not attend the meetings. The meeting in Pumula South was held on Saturday 9 March 2013 and was attended by the councillor for the ward, Siboniso Khumalo and eighty three residents (38 Females and 45 Males).  The one in Gwabalanda was also held on Saturday 9 March 2013 and was graced by the councillor for ward 15, Israel Mabaleka and attended by 78 residents (32 Males and 46 Females). Lastly the meeting held in Njube on Sunday 10 March 2013 was attended by 112 residents (80 Females and 32 Males). The councillor for the ward was not present, but the meeting went ahead as planned with residents voicing their concerns on service delivery issues.

The main issues discussed at the three meetings were as follows:

·         

Bulawayo’s water crisis inevitably dominated discussions at all the meetings. Residents demanded to know if there were any plans to build new dams in Bulawayo. They argued that Bulawayo’s water woes were due to lack of vision by successive governments and local authorities since independence. They said it was inevitable for the city to face water shortages since there had been no dam built since 1976. Residents also expressed concerns with the fact that Bulawayo’s water chemicals are running out. They called upon BCC to resolve the issue immediately to make sure that residents have access to clean drinking water.

·         Residents once again alleged that the local authority’s water billing system was flawed as they continued to receive high bills despite water shedding for 3 days a week. Some of the residents revealed that their meter readings were not in-sync with readings at BCC. They said this was an indication that residents were being fleeced by use of estimates. They called upon BCC to invest in meter readers and refrain from estimated readings.

·          Concerns were raised that BCC was continuing to attach and seize the properties of some residents with arrears. Residents said while they understood that this was the legal route to take, they believed that BCC was being inconsiderate by failing to understand that the country’s economic situation was dire thus residents genuinely cannot afford to pay their dues. They implored the local authority to allow residents to make payment plans as opposed to seizing their properties.

·         Residents also complained about the poor state of roads in Bulawayo. They said the situation could lead to increase in road carnage as motorists often flout traffic regulations in an attempt to avoid pot holes.

·         Lastly, residents bemoaned the failure by BCC to collect refuse on a weekly basis as used to be the case yesteryear. They said it was imperative for the local authority to refocus its attention to service delivery as opposed to staff salaries.

Regards

Information Department

Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association

Bus. Tel: +263 9 61196

Cell: +263 772 516 729

Blog: bprainfo.blogspot.com

Website: www.bulawayoresidents.org

Press Release - BPRA Lobbies Anti-Corruption Commission on BEAM and HSCTP

Press Release

Date:              28 February 2013

Contact:         Emmanuel Ndlovu

                        Programmes and Advocacy Manager

                        Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA)

BPRA Lobbies Anti-Corruption Commission on BEAM and HSCTP

BULAWAYO Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) has written to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission requesting investigations into the administration of the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM)and the Harmonised Social Cash Transfer Programme (HSCTP). The investigations are meant to put to rest allegations of underhand dealings and corruption in the administration of the two programmes within the broader goal of promoting transparency and accountability in the operations of public institutions. The HSCTP is a social welfare project that is operated by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and aims at poverty alleviation through financial support to households living in extreme poverty. Meanwhile BEAM is a social welfare programme, operated by the same ministry that supports poor and vulnerable children with their education.

Investigations carried out by BPRA in 2012 in the six wards (ward 8, ward 14, ward 18, ward 19, ward 27 and ward 28) where the pilot phase of the HSCTP is in place revealed irregularities in the administration of the project with intended beneficiaries alleging that they were being fleeced of their handouts. Meanwhile residents of Bulawayo have previously complained that BEAM was not reaching the intended beneficiaries, with school heads, influential teachers and School Development Committees (SDC) members allegedly using their influence to enlist their kith and kin who do not need educational assistance.   

In the two letters, dated 26 February 2013 and addressed to the General Manager of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, BPRA requested investigations into the HSCTP and BEAM to ensure transparency and accountability in the operations of the two programmes in order to ensure that they adequately benefit the intended beneficiaries –underprivileged and vulnerable people. In a response to the letters today (28 February 2013), the  Anti-Corruption Commission wrote “Thank you for sending this vital information to us. Please note that you report will get the necessary attention and look forward to hearing from us soon.”

Please find attached copies of the letters that BPRA sent to the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Signed

.........................................................

Mr Emmanuel Ndlovu

Programmes and Advocacy Manager

Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA)