By Lovemore Meya
The Municipality of Chitungwiza Councillors resolved to adopt a new debt management system saying it was a much-needed move towards digitization while shunning an analogue system they described as “drunk, porous and weak” that allegedly facilitated corruption and “thievery.”
General Purpose Committee (GPC) chairperson, Councillor Watmore Muchairi challenged a recommendation by the Finance Committee to rescind a resolution to engage a debt management service provider.
During its sitting on 31 July 2025, the finance committee recommended the rescinding of the resolution number 604 which was made a policy in February 2022.
Councillor Muchairi argued that debt management service was not the same with debt collection services.
He highlighted that both Councillors and management during the said period misconstrued the terms and ignored why debt management system was very instrumental.
“Your Worship, I have a challenge. As I am going through the Finance Committee minutes, leading to the adoption they have requested, I picked that there is a mixup of issues. This has led them to seek a rescission on a matter that had already been made a policy sometime ago.
“I noticed that there were gray areas from the word go when this resolution was made during the 472nd ordinary council meeting on 18 February 2022. As I tried to match the minutes for that meeting, I noticed misrepresentation of facts and of Acts. Despite the fact that the minutes were later approved as the correct record. I detected that wrong sections were quoted by Councillors who were in office during the period and they even adopted the minutes.”
He said wrong Acts were cited and no guidance was provided by the technocrats.
“The only section I saw which was quoted is Section 87 of the Urban Councils Act that spells out the turning of a full Council into a committee. But the section which was read by the then Acting Chamber Secretary (Mr Raymond Wenyeve), section (Section 307 of UCA) speak of audit and nothing to do with the debt management system.
“The same chamber secretary also misrepresented facts by saying ‘this debt management system is being ultravires the Legal Practitioner Act,’ which is a privilage for lawyers. The lawyers guard it jealously, that is why when it was given to Harare (Wellcash), lawyers went to courts stating that debt collection was their privilege and they won the case.”
Councillor Muchairi added. “We are moving from analogue to digitisation, let us embrace the Enterprise Resource Management System (ERP). This is an ease way of doing business where a ratepayer receives a message informing them of how much they owe.
“I am surprised why they are rescending this resolution. I propose to stop the rescission of this resolution because we were not there. Fruthermore, I am proposing for a special council meeting where we will invite Redforce to come and do a presentation.”
Councillor Beaven Murada also weighed in.
“I am seconding. This is good and may this special meeting be convened on Wednesday (20 August).”
Adding his voice was also Finance Committee Chairperson, Cllr Peter Matiringe who said in 2022, he was the major proponent of the service.
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