The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor
COUNCILLORS in Bulawayo reportedly rejected the city’s proposed 2022 budget when it was initially presented to them by council management with some of them reportedly walking out of the tension-filled meeting.
The local authority proposed a 2022 budget which will see residents in some places paying as much as $12 000 for rates, before factoring in water charges as the local authority targets to introduce various fees increases ranging between 155 percent and 687 percent.
The proposed budget however, saw residents raise a red flag noting that the suggested tariffs would see most of them failing to pay their rates.
The city’s town clerk, Mr Christopher Dube, however, reacted by saying this was the fairest budget they could come up with, further purporting a united front between council officials and councillors in endorsing the proposed figures.
However, it has since emerged that councillors actually initially rejected the proposed budget in a meeting where the finance director, Mr Kimpton Ndimande, presented the figures to them, with some of them even walking out of the meeting. Council sources revealed that it had to take, Mr Dube engaging the Mayor, Clr Solomon Mguni for the tensions to calm down and common ground to be reached.
“The meeting was tense, but one thing which came out without any doubt was that all the councillors rejected the proposed budget because of the magnitude of the increments, some of the councillors actually walked out of that meeting.
“It had to take the Town Clerk (Mr Dube) to intervene and phone the Mayor (Clr Mguni) who had not attended the meeting, to try and calm tensions and map a way forward, otherwise there was no budget which was going to be presented to the residents,” said the source.
Speaking during a Sunday News podcast last Thursday, the city’s Deputy Mayor, Clr Mlandu Ncube confirmed the impasses but revealed that when they went out to consult residents, most had seemingly endorsed the proposed figures.
“When this budget was first presented to us as councillors by the council officials, all councillors rejected the proposed increment but shockingly when we went to consult residents — for instance in my ward — they really adopted the proposed increment.
“There are only two wards that rejected this proposed budget which was ward 11 and another one which I am forgetting, this other ward in fact rejected the 200 percent but proposed another percentage increment. This thus means that the people that we consulted agreed to the increment and they know what they need,” said Clr Ncube.
Questioned on whether the proposed percentage increments where not too high, Clr Ncube said considering the targeted services, the figures were fair enough. He however, called on residents to pay the little they have so as to ensure that services are done to satisfactory levels.
“With the services that they expect it must be a fair budget, when you look at what the council has proposed to increase and proposed to do, it will be fair when we deliver services because what is important is; after collecting that money; are we going to be able to deliver services as a local authority to the satisfaction of residents.
“Council is not saying that when your bill is $12 000 come and pay $12 000, we are saying come and pay something, do not allow your bill to go for three to four months without paying,” he said.
According to the Urban Councils Act, a budget statement is subject for review if at least 30 residents register their objection to it.
The Act reads; “If a statement has been advertised within the period stipulated of 30 days objections to the proposed tariffs, charges or deposits are lodged by 30 or more persons who are voters or who are users of the services to which the tariff, charges or deposit relates.
Whether there are less than 30 such users of services concerned but not less that 50 percent of the number of such users, such tariffs, charges or deposits shall be recommended by the council, together with the objections so lodged, and they shall not come into operation unless resolution is again passed by a majority of the total membership of the council.”
