{"id":1083,"date":"2025-09-16T10:29:54","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T10:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/?p=1083"},"modified":"2025-09-16T10:29:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T10:29:54","slug":"mutare-struggles-as-government-departments-top-list-of-debtors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/2025\/09\/16\/mutare-struggles-as-government-departments-top-list-of-debtors\/","title":{"rendered":"Mutare Struggles as Government Departments Top List of Debtors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Fanuel Chinowaita<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Town Clerk Blessing Kapuya Chafesuka addressing Stakeholders at Mutare Hall<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

MUTARE, 16 September 2025<\/strong> \u2013 The City of Mutare is grappling with mounting debts from government departments, parastatals, and local authorities that dominate the municipality\u2019s Top 10 Debtors List<\/em>, worsening financial pressures and threatening service delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the 2025 Half-Year Performance Report<\/strong> presented by Town Clerk K.B. Chafesuka<\/strong>, receivables ballooned to ZWG587.8 million<\/strong> by June 30, marking a 31.58% increase<\/strong> from the ZWG446.7 million recorded at the start of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the top of the debtor\u2019s list is the Ministry of Defence<\/strong>, which owes a staggering ZWG40.6 million<\/strong>, followed closely by Mutasa Rural District Council (ZWG24 million)<\/strong>. Law enforcement agencies are also in arrears, with the Zimbabwe Republic Police Mutare Camp owing ZWG9.7 million<\/strong>, and the Prison and Correctional Services ZWG4 million<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other key debtors include the Ministry of Home Affairs (ZWG20.6 million)<\/strong>, Manica Boards and Doors (ZWG2.2 million)<\/strong>, ZimParks (ZWG4.3 million)<\/strong>, Manicaland Agricultural Society (ZWG3.2 million)<\/strong>, ZINWA (ZWG2.2 million)<\/strong>, and the National Railways of Zimbabwe (ZWG2.5 million)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collectively, the top 10 debtors account for ZWG98.6 million<\/strong>, nearly a fifth of Mutare\u2019s total receivables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City officials warned that the rising debt burden is crippling liquidity<\/strong> and limiting Mutare\u2019s capacity to fund key services, including road rehabilitation, water supply, waste management, and school infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe continued non-payment of bills by Government Departments and Mutasa RDC has imposed a heavy financial strain on City operations,\u201d the report notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April, Mutare submitted interim payment certificates worth USD710,157.66 to ZINARA<\/strong>, but by June only ZWG2.8 million (USD104,895.30 equivalent)<\/strong> had been disbursed. The shortfall, coupled with ballooning receivables, is forcing the City Council to cut back on planned projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To recover the mounting arrears, the council has intensified enforcement strategies, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Final demand letters and court summons<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Negotiated payment plans<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Water rationing<\/strong> for defaulting institutions<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Disconnection of services<\/strong> in extreme cases<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    However, enforcement against government departments remains politically sensitive, often leaving councils without practical recourse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The unpaid debts are not just a bookkeeping problem. They are directly linked to service gaps affecting ordinary residents. Roads across Mutare continue to deteriorate, with only 0.59km rehabilitated in the first half of the year against a target of 2.24km<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Despite the introduction of a sports levy<\/strong>, collection efficiency stood at only 22.09%, while the city\u2019s road levy collections covered just 16% of planned works<\/strong>, leaving projects such as Simon Mazorodze Road and Railway Avenue underfunded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At the same time, schools under the Council have had to rely on the Responsible Authority Levy<\/strong>, with only USD182,334.90 collected by June for infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The City of Mutare has appealed to government ministries, departments, and local authorities to clear their arrears, warning that failure to do so will continue to undermine service delivery and stall development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Chafesuka stressed that timely settlement of bills would not only improve cashflows but also strengthen the City\u2019s ability to deliver on its 2025 budget targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cLiquidity challenges are undermining Mutare\u2019s ability to meet contractual obligations and sustain operations. The debts must be settled for services to improve,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    With receivables rising, creditors demanding payment, and service delivery standards under pressure, the City faces an uphill battle. Unless government departments and other top debtors step up, Mutare\u2019s efforts to modernize its infrastructure and improve living conditions for residents may remain in jeopardy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By Fanuel Chinowaita MUTARE, 16 September 2025 \u2013 The City of Mutare is grappling with mounting debts from government departments, parastatals, and local authorities that dominate the municipality\u2019s Top 10 Debtors List, worsening financial pressures and threatening service delivery. According to the 2025 Half-Year Performance Report presented by Town Clerk K.B. Chafesuka, receivables ballooned to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1083"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1083\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1085,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1083\/revisions\/1085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}