Chronicle Editor
Lingani Nyika, Chronicle Reporter
GOVERNMENT has ordered the Victoria Falls City Council to consult residents and come up with a supplementary budget that should see some of the proposed rates and services charges in the 2021 budget being reduced.
The council has since lined up consultative meetings to solicit residents’ views on the supplementary budget.
The local authority had proposed a nearly $1,3 billion budget for 2021 drawing the ire of residents who said their views were not captured hence the consultation process was flawed.
The residents say Victoria Falls was hard hit by Covid-19 which left tourism, the mainstay of the city’s economy, closed.
They said most of them were as a result struggling to make ends meet hence cannot afford the proposed rates and service charges.
The residents have been lobbying for reduction of rates and some even petitioned Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo to fire some councillors for disregarding residents’ contributions and flouting local governance procedures.
Minister Moyo recently ordered the council to consult residents on the budget saying the Government was not going to prescribe to the local authority.
In a statement, the council management said ward meetings will be held under strict Covid-19 regulations with a maximum of 50 people allowed at any given meeting.
“Victoria Falls City Council wishes to inform its valuable residents and stakeholders that it will be holding ward consultative meetings for formulating a supplementary budget,” read the statement.
The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works followed up with a letter to the council directing it to come up with a supplementary budget.
“The tariff review reflects that the 2021 budget process was not properly conducted. Council is therefore advised to prepare a supplementary budget after adequately consulting the ratepayers. To facilitate service delivery, council may adopt and implement the supplementary budget by resolution and submit a copy of the same to the Ministry,” read the circular from the Ministry.
Ratepayers have been imploring the local authority to reduce rates after many received water bills ranging between $3 000 and $9 000 per month.
Victoria Falls Combined Residents Association chairperson Mr Kelvin Moyo said residents want a flexible budget that is alive to the economic situation.
“We expect the supplementary budget to consider changing some of the tariffs and rates, especially those that affect ordinary residents. We have to balance between the needs of the council and residents’ capabilities so that we don’t cripple service delivery,” said Mr Moyo.-@NyikaLingani.
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