MARTIN MAWAYA
Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association (GRRA) has trained residents on basics of legal literacy as the local authority has upped the attachment of property following defaults on payment of rates.
The training is aimed to enhance residents’ knowledge of debt collection and the legal processes involved in property attachment.
Prominent legal practitioner, Hillary Garikai facilitated the workshop, taking GRRA structures, women, and youths through the litigation processes related to seizing of properties.
Garikai urged residents not to ignore legal summons but should take action and challenge them if there is arbitrarily violation of their rights.
He said ignoring court summons could result in “default judgments and the attachment of property”.
GRRA executive director, Cornilia Selipiwe told The Midweek Watch that the objective of the sensitization program was to provide civic education and equip residents with legal knowledge on how to handle court processes.
“The importance of this training is to empower residents through information sharing. We are conducting civic education to ensure people understand how to defend themselves and know what to do if they receive final letters of demand from courts,” said Selipiwe.
“We have noticed that people lack adequate knowledge on how to handle summons when they receive them.
“Therefore, the association sought assistance from a legal expert to guide residents through the process that occurs before and after property attachment,” he added.
He emphasized that attaching residents’ property and putting them up for auction had a detrimental effect on their mental health.
City of Gweru has been coming down hard on residents who owe the local authority, resulting in many having their property attached by the Messenger of Court.
However, residents condemned the ongoing property attachments and felt that the local authority was insensitive to their plight, as they were being charged substantial bills for services not provided.
They further criticized the local authority’s billing system, describing it as in “shambles”, hence the authenticity of the debts is always questionable.
