The City of Harare, and actually every other municipality we have locally, doesn’t usually turn a lot of attention to online services and technology. Sometimes, they do, however see the benefits and make some effort to use technology.
In a an announcement made through a newspaper advert, the City of Harare has introduced an online bill enquiry function on its website. Residents can log on to www.hararecity.co.zw click on the Bill enquiry tab and proceed to register their accounts to be able to access the basic service.
At this point there is no integration with an option for online payments through the same platform, something which would have added a much needed dimension to this new development. If I know how much I owe the city, the next thing I’d want to do is to pay my bill.
With ubiquitous payment alternatives like mobile money such a feature should be standard. After all, the City of Harare has, in the past, entertained the integration of mobile money payments for rates through services like EcoCash.
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I’m also looking forward to a mobile application that does all this, and perhaps, caters for other City of Harare services and information. Other cities should also have a go at it. Surely there’s developer talent in each city and town to make this a possibility.
For now this enquiry option is at least a start, especially for the hordes of people that are always frustrated by the prospect of queuing just to find out how much they need to give city.
- Technology Zimbabwe