THE Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) has urged the local authority to slash senior citizens’ monthly bills by half.
BPRA chairperson Ambrose Sibindi said: “We want the bills to be reduced for our elderly people. There should be a policy or resolution by council for half of the bill to be paid for a particular month. Council had reduced rates only for the elderly. Now we want their bills to be reduced.”
But council’s finance and development committee chairperson, Tawanda Ruzive said allowing the elders to pay half bills would cripple council operations.
“We already give out 5 000 litres of water for free, and giving more than that will cripple council’s operations. The elderly mostly live with their young grandchildren who require a lot of money. These grandchildren have parents who should be helping council because children require a lot of water, hence we cannot do more than that because many people will end up suffering,” Ruzive said.
Last year, council urged the elderly that are 70 years and above to apply for a 50% rates rebate since most Zimbabwean pensioners are struggling to pay their bills.
