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Prosper Ndlovu Senior Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council officials and councillors are, starting today, meeting residents to review this year’s budget performance and determine priorities for 2014. In a statement yesterday, the Town Clerk, Mr Middleton Nyoni, said the budget meetings would be facilitated by council officials and councillors at specified venues in each of the city’s 29 wards.
He said the meetings are expected to end on Saturday next week.
“The aim of the consultation meetings is to review the 2013 budget performance and to determine priority areas for 2014,” said Mr Nyoni.
According to the schedule released by council the first meeting would be held at 2pm today at Stanley Hall in Makokoba.
Tomorrow 10 meetings will be held in Wards two, three, six, 12, 14, 15, 18, 21, 26 and 29.
The remaining wards would conduct the meetings on Sunday with the last meeting set for UMC Church in Ward 16 starting from 2pm.
Primary schools and community halls would be used as venues for the meetings while Ward Four would conduct its meeting at Rio Hotel in Waterford.
The council’s senior public relations officer, Mrs Nesisa Mpofu urged residents to attend the meetings and make contributions.
“These are critical meetings that determine the level of service that council will offer and how much residents will pay for that service.
“It is at these meetings that residents and council will agree on priorities for next year,” she said.
Last year a majority of residents from eastern suburbs and the city centre stayed away from the meetings during which council came up with an evaluation roll, which was used to determine rates for the areas.
When the new rates were effected at the beginning of the year, bills increased in some cases by up to 1 000 percent sparking an outcry from residents.
The council was forced to reconvene the consultation meetings and later on slashed the bills.
Last year’s budget was $168 million.
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