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Blessings Chidakwa
Herald Reporter
THE Government and the Harare City Council yesterday met to find the way forward after the rejection of city’s 2024 budget amid an outcry over deteriorating service delivery.
Harare was given up to the next month to put its house in order.
The Government declined to approve the city’s budget citing many reasons including the absence of a functional computer-based management system, over-staffing and unaudited accounts, among other anomalies.
Speaking after a closed meeting between Government and council officials, Local Government and Public Works Minister Winston Chitando said they had fruitful deliberations.
“We had a very constructive meeting with the City of Harare where we discussed the areas and the reasons why the budget was not approved.
“As a Ministry, we did not mince our words that without coming up with an enterprise resource system, computerised system, the City of Harare is not going anywhere until that is put in place,” he said.
Minister Chitando also said there was need to have the city’s accounts audited so that as a very big entity, it would be able to raise funding from short to medium and long-term investment.
“They also raised issues of concern on their part. We have agreed as a way forward that they will be sitting by the 19th of April and come up with a roadmap to ensure that they have accounts which can be approved by the ministry,” he said.
Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume hailed the engagement.
“The discussions were frank and we found areas of convergence. We all agreed that we need an ERP,” he said.
“We will endeavour as policymakers, to make sure that our staff deliver a budget to the residents, to the Ministry, that is worth taking a city forward.
“This is in line with the development trajectory that was enunciated by the Government,” he said.
Mayor Mafume said the city had battled a leadership turmoil for years, which led them to facing many challenges.
Harare Residents Trust director Mr Precious Shumba said the city was being led by leaders who lacked the technical competence to execute their mandate.
“As Harare Residents Trust, we welcome the Government’s decision to reject the City of Harare’s 2024 budget.
“That budget is anti-people because of steep rates that will end up financially crippling the residents and the businesses operating in Harare,” he said.
“The City of Harare has operated without a functional, transparent and accountable billing system since March 2019 when the BIQ enterprise resource planning programme was terminated following revelations of alleged fraud and manipulation of the council’s financial system by corrupt managers.”
Mr Shumba said the city had excess labour beyond the capacity of the ratepayers to pay them.
“Most of the workers are unskilled and semi-skilled, which makes the City of Harare an employment agency,” he said.
Combined Harare Residents Trust director Mr Rueben Akili said: “The rejection of the city of Harare budget by the Minister was because it did not comply with the principles of transparency and accountability.
“The tariff structure for domestic ratepayers is around US$8, 50 while for commercial and industrial clients hovers around US$3,50.
“If you look at the amount of sewerage generated by the industries or one building in town which can have 300 occupants and such a building is billed US$3,50 it does not then make sense to bill more for a house that has 10 occupants.”
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