Three of the country’s four city councils have turned to courts in a bid to recover about K40 billion in unpaid property rates arrears after sealing premises of non-compliant developers.
In separate interviews yesterday, Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Zomba city councils confirmed pursuing legal action against some property owners who have failed to settle their debts while Blantyre City Council said it has undertaken enforcement measures following the expiry of payment notices.
Speaking in an interview yesterday, Lilongwe City Council director of commerce Genscher M’bwabwa said property owners in the capital city still owe the council about K13 billion.
He said the council has intensified enforcement, including sealing of business premises even during the festive season in a bid to maximise revenue recovery.
Said M’bwabwa: “We have a list of some business properties that owe us a lot of money and our legal department is issuing demand letters to these property owners before taking them to court.
“The council has also employed eight permanent debt collectors and 22 temporary debt collectors to enhance our debt collection.”
Zomba City Council chief executive officer Archangel Bikoko said in a separate interview that the council is taking a balanced approach by engaging property owners, particularly those with large arrears to agree on realistic repayment plans.
However, he warned that leniency will not extend to those who refuse to cooperate.
“For those who are not coming forth, we are just sealing their offices and we are also taking them to court,” said Bikoko.
Mzuzu City Council spokesperson MacDonald Gondwe said the council has also stepped up engagement with defaulting property owners, but legal action is now imminent.
He said while the council has been reaching out and sealing some non-compliant businesses, court proceedings will begin in January next year.
“So, from January we will take legal action against some of the defaulters and take them to court. They will be paying us the debts through the court,” said Gondwe.
Briefing the media in Blantyre yesterday, Blantyre City mayor Isaac Jomo Osman said council officials will start sealing business premises with outstanding arrears with immediate effect following the expiry of a 21-day payment notice.
Jomo said that as of yesterday, property owners owed his council about K8 billion, a situation he said is severely affecting service delivery in the country’s commercial capital.
“What we want is the money for the delivery of some critical services in our city. We will seal any business premises that owe us, regardless of the owner’s political affiliation,” said Osman.
The renewed crackdown by city councils comes amid growing pressure on local authorities to improve service delivery.
