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Lovemore Meya Herald Correspondent
Chitungwiza Municipality has embarked on an extensive exercise to identify illegal water and sewerage connections in an effort to bring culprits to book.

This follows the announcement of an amnesty by council last month, calling on residents to come forward to regularise their connections. Most of the offenders spurned the amnesty, forcing council to act. Acting town clerk, Mrs Charity Maunga said residents disregarded dialogue.

“We have since deployed our officers on a rigorous enforcement after realising that there was low response to our amnesty offer. It should be known that those to be found wanting will face the wrath of the law. They are going to pay all the penalties, including other costs which council will incur in connecting them legally. Our officers are doing a dual job of moving in those areas to do legal connections where people have come forth and identifying illegal connections,” she said.

Mrs Maunga said despite council’s willingness to engage residents, it was worrying that some were not responding.

“We flighted an advert in the newspaper calling upon all our residents who illegally connected sewerage and water giving them an amnesty up to November 30,” she said. “We were saying if you could come and declare your legality we would not charge you any penalties.

“Ordinarily, when you are found with an illegal connection you pay penalties, but we are saying we want to dialogue with our residents by giving them a chance to regularise their connections.”

Mrs Maunga said council was assisting those who heed the call.

“We are assisting residents who came for a dialogue and our officers will go on the ground to check the extent of illegal connection so that they can be able to come and give appropriate recommendations,” she said.

“We did not want to appear to be too stringent as council, we want a soft approach where we dialogue and come up with solutions, because there was a low response to the amnesty, we are left with no option.”

Reports were that the illegal connections are costing council about 45 percent non-revenue water.