The government has barred City of Harare from dumping the Zimdollar billing in favour of the US dollar.

In a notice to residents, the local authority also pointed out that all outstanding arrears as at 30 June 2023 will be converted to USD using the prevailing bank rate.

“Notice is hereby given to all residents and stakeholders of the City of Harare that effective 1 July 2023, the Council bill will be denominated in USD and all outstanding arrears as at 30 June 2023 will be converted to USD using the prevailing exchange rate.

“Payments to the City of Harare will be accepted in either USD or ZWL$ converted at the prevailing official exchange rate of the date of payment.

“All ratepayers’ (debtors) accounts will be maintained in USD and all billing will be done in USD based on approved USD tariffs in the 2023 budget.

“The need to preserve value against exchange rate losses has necessitated this move,” reads the notice.

However, the government has rejected the move by the local authority to bill in US dollars.

Zwnews