Residents demand BCC financial statements

Vusumuzi Dube, Senior Municipal Reporter

BULAWAYO residents have demanded that the local authority avails them with a detailed financial statement for the year up to September 2020, among a host of other demands to  enable them to fully appreciate the proposed 2020 supplementary budget and the 2021 budget.

The local authority gave residents up to 4 November to table their objections to the proposed supplementary and 2021 annual budget.

Early this month BCC proposed a supplementary budget of $550 792 328 and a 2021 annual budget of $16 billion.

In a letter to the local authority, the Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association demanded that BCC provides them with the draft budget which also indicates the total salary bill of the council, the current financial statement, the annual financial statement for the year 2019, disclosure of funds received as grants and in-aid finances and a breakdown of how the three percent ward retention funds were used in 2019.

The residents noted that they need these in order for them to understand how public funds are being utilised.

“BPRA is further requesting for an unabridged version of the 2021 BCC Draft Budget for the purposes of analysing it before 4 November which is the deadline for submission of objections. The abridged version of the draft budget which is currently in the hands of the public does not provide useful information required for any meaningful analysis. On top of the un-abridged budget, we are further requesting for other financial records below which we believe ratepayers have the right to access in order for them to understand how public funds are being utilized,” reads part of the letter.

BPRA noted that if the local authority fails to provide the required documents, the whole budgeting process might run the risk of being reduced to a mere theatre and window dressing activity.

This year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic restriction measures, the local authority held its budget consultation exercises virtually as people could not physically gather to debate of the proposed budget.