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Michael Magoronga, Midlands Correspondent
THE parliamentary portfolio committee on Local Government, Public Works and National Housing has raised a red flag over delays by treasury to disburse devolution funds to local authorities.
This comes as Kwekwe City Council officials revealed that they were yet to receive their devolution allocation for 2021 despite most local and rural authorities in Midlands Province having received theirs.
In an interview soon after touring Kwekwe City devolution projects, Acting Chairperson of the committee, Cde Bramwell Bushu expressed concern over the delays in the disbursements of funds.
“The issue of devolution funds is of paramount importance given the development they are bringing to the economy via local authorities. It is therefore worrying that you find that some local authorities are receiving their allocations in October, November or December giving them no time to implement their projects. We are therefore going to pursue the matter via relevant routes to ensure that they are disbursed timeously,” he said.
Cde Bushu said early disbursement gives councils proper time for implementing projects and making them practicable, visible and have the intended impact on society.
He said most councils were facing revenue collection challenges, the devolution funds would come in handy and assist local authorities to deliver service.
“We noticed that most local authorities have revenue collection and application of revenue challenges. Covid-19 reduced a lot of economic activities at the same time the council needed to provide services, that is the biggest challenge they are faced with since the economy has not been performing at all,” said Cde Bushu .
He expressed optimism that most councils have the potential and the capacity to improve.
Cde Bushu urged councils to engage residents when coming up with budgets.
“It is worrying that some councils are not consulting their residents, rather especially technocrats, are imposing rates on residents. Rates are key in the functioning of every economy and they should involve everyone,” he said.
The committee hailed projects by the mining town that include conversion of a bar into a hospital, construction of markets and waste management saying other cities have a lot to learn from the city.
“Their waste management is commendable, especially that of liquid waste. Most cities do not even have a plan on the management of liquid waste. The way Kwekwe manages waste is commendable. In fact, it is one of the cleanest cities,” he said.
The committee has been touring local authorities across the country focusing mainly on assessing waste management, challenges faced by local authorities and use of devolution funds.
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