Chitungwiza Mayor denies council owes Zinwa Z$18 billion

By Tichaona Sibanda
27 October 2005

The MDC Mayor of Chitungwiza, Misheck Shoko, has denied that his council owes the Zimbabwe National Water Authority Z$18 billion.

The state controlled Herald in its front-page story Thursday reported that Zinwa cut off water supplies to the town because the municipality has not paid its bills for five months.

The paper added that while hundreds of thousands of people suffer, Mayor Shoko, other councillors and senior officials are living it up in a luxury hotel in Victoria Falls.

Shoko and all other Mayors from cities and towns around the country are attending the annual general meeting of the Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe.

Speaking from Victoria Falls a fuming Shoko said their account with Zinwa is up to date and that the last payment they made to the Water authority was credited to the Harare City Council in error.

‘We don’t owe Zinwa Z$18B. When we paid our account they accredited that amount to Harare City Council. The error was theirs not ours,’ said Mayor Shoko.

Zinwa officials have since phoned him to apologise and water supplies have been reconnected but it will be Friday before all areas in the town received supplies.

Shoko alleges the whole water saga centres on a plan dubbed ‘final push’ by his detractors to remove him from office next week Monday. He said a demonstration against him by former employees, fired for stealing council funds, has been organised for Monday outside the Chitungwiza council offices.

Brushing aside the planned demonstration the MDC Mayor said the only crime he has committed was belonging to a political party that is not the ruling party.