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Innocent Ruwende Municipal Reporter
Harare City Council is expected to unveil a $340 million budget tomorrow, which is a 28 percent increase on the previous year’s budget. The city proposed a $272,7 million budget last year, which was approved minus executive salaries the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing felt were too high.
The city has not increased rates for the past five years and sources said the situation would probably remain the same the following year.
Although there is a 28 percent upward adjustment from last year’s budget, the city wants to get extra money to cushion residents from building plans, especially for telecommunications companies who intend to erect or own base stations.
Council sources said it was council’s intention to raise the projected $340 million from its revenue base to finance the envisaged 2016 annual expenditure.
Acting Town Clerk Mrs Josephine Ncube told senior army officers participating in the National Defence Course No. 4 of 2015 who toured the city’s Morton Jaffray Water Treatment Works as part of their training that the city was in the process of crafting the 2016 budget.
“There were a lot of issues raised by residents in our pre-budget consultation meetings such as the provision of clean water, speed humps, the need for the city to improve customer care and refurbishment of community halls,” she said.
She said the city could not attend to all the residents’ wishes but would balance things to make life affordable as the burden would be passed on to residents.
Senior army officers from Southern Africa who are attending the National Defence Course No. 4 of 2015 yesterday grilled officials on various service delivery issues which include water supply and housing.
Harare Mayor Councillor Bernard Manyenyeni briefed the officers on how council operated.
Addressing the officers before presentations were done by different directors, Clr Manyenyeni said it was imperative for army personnel to be conversant with the city’s infrastructure especially water treatment plants which were of national importance.
“The city has no secrets. We have a mandate to make the city more liveable and national security is in your hands.
“Anything that can happen to Morton Jaffray can affect the whole city hence it is important for the army to know about such establishments,” he said.
Clr Manyenyeni commended the professionalism of the National Defence College, which had seen it attracting participants from other countries including South Africa, Tanzania, Namibia and Kenya among others.
The army officers asked the city officials how land barons came to own huge tracts of land in Harare and why the city allowed people to illegally settle on land and then demolish their properties.
Housing manager Mrs Barbra Mandizha said land barons invaded land which was in the process of being surveyed for housing purposes or land meant for other purposes.
“All land should be allocated in terms of the law but there are some individuals who flout procedures. Our Development Control Unit has been issuing “Stop development” orders to all illegal housing settlements in Harare and in the majority of cases officers have gone on the ground to the developers to stop further construction.
“Our pleas were not heeded, hence we were left with no option but to pull down the illegal structures,” she said.
She said the official housing waiting list for Harare had 165 000 people although the city was aware that the demand is around 500 000.
The officers were also concerned about the Pomona dump site, which they said was compromising security as it was near Pomona Barracks.
South African participants also wanted to know how the city managed to drive out illegal vendors from the city centre.
Online Reporter