file pic
Peter Chawapiwa
06 March 2017, MPANDAWANA -The Gutu Business Development Association (GBDA) has, as a true representative of the people, successfully lobbied service providers to revise their rates downwards, the association’s chairperson, Isaiah Ngwaru has said.
Speaking to TellZim News recently, Ngwaru said the GBDA had made a number of achievements since its formation.
“We successfully lobbied Zinwa (Zimbabwe National Water Authority) for the reduction of water tariffs from $1.50 to 30c per cubic metre and for fixed water charges to drop from $40 to $17 per month.
“We have also approached council to take over water supply management to Mpandawana from Zinwa starting this year because we are a town now,” Ngwaru said.
Ngwaru said the association had approached The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) to persuade them to build a second feeder line from Mashava as a contingency measure to the existing line which is prone to regular faults.
“Work is already in progress on the second feeder line and this is expected to improve the availability of power in the town,” he said.
Apart from convincing council to stagger the payment of licence fees and rates in the district, Ngwaru said the organisation had also lobbied council to hold at least three stakeholder consultative meetings every year to review progress on commitments and projects.
The meetings, Ngwaru said, will also give authorities a chance to highlight and explain challenges arising.
He said GBDA had invited both the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) and the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) to hold workshops for the business community.
“As GBDA we will continue to work for the people of Gutu to improve service delivery in the district and the town,” Ngwaru said.business
