Sinokubonga Nkala
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, smoyo@chronicle.co.zw
FOLLOWING a contentious meeting involving residents’ associations, business representatives, and other stakeholders, the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has been forced to revise its proposed 2025 budget.
The meeting, chaired by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works’ director of local authorities’ inspectorate, Ms Priscillar Mudzinge, resolved to base the revised budget on 2017 tariffs.
A committee representing industry leaders, residents’ groups, tourism players, and academic institutions has been tasked with crafting the revised budget by December 20 and presenting it to the ministry by January 7.
This decision was made in response to sharp criticism from the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) Matabeleland Chapter, and the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC), among other stakeholders, over alleged miscalculations in tariff adjustments for 2022 and 2023, resulting in exorbitant charges that forced businesses to scale down or relocate. Yesterday, a no-holds-barred meeting at the council chambers was held between BCC, residents’ associations, ZNCC and CZI representatives to discuss the matter.
BCC presented a US$309 million budget for 2025 in September, aimed at enhancing service delivery, focusing on gender-specific projects and revitalising the city’s recreational facilities.
However, Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr Martin Rushwaya, directed the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works last month not to approve the budget until the local authority addresses concerns raised by the business community regarding the 2024 budget.
CZI Matabeleland Chamber accused BCC of using an incorrect formula to index tariffs for 2022 and 2023 in US dollars, resulting in exorbitant charges.
Despite a series of meetings between CZI representatives, BCC officials and Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister, Judith Ncube, there was no resolution resulting in an impasse.
In his letter to the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works permanent secretary, Dr John Basera, Dr Rushwaya said he found issues raised by the CZI to be invaluable and deserving of engagement by the local authority.
Acting town clerk, Mrs Sikhangele Zhou, acknowledged the concerns and stated that the new budget would incorporate inflation-adjusted increases from 2017 to 2025 while striving to strike a balance between affordability and service delivery.
“What the business community is saying is that when we changed in 2022 we used a factor which gave higher rates yet if we had just used inflation figures on the United States dollar tariffs, we would probably have come up with different figures,” said Mrs Zhou.
“What the council is saying is that even without those figures, the prices of goods have affected the tariff increases so the committee ought to see what is reasonable and strike a win-win situation.”
CZI Matabeleland Chapter president, Mr Stephen Ncube, welcomed the resolution, calling it a relief for industry and residents.
He noted that the agreement could pave the way for Bulawayo’s industrial revival after years of stagnation due to high operational costs.
“We are excited that we have found each other with the council because their tariffs, particularly fixed costs, were one of the cost drivers for industries which forced some to scale down operations while others relocated to business-friendly cities,” he said.
“Now that we are reverting to the 2017 figures, going forward this will be a huge relief to industry and commerce and even residents.”
Mr Ncube said the 2025 budget that will be presented in January will be based on financial facts not estimates.
Bulawayo United Residents Association (BURA) secretary-general, Mr Edward Nare, said the council’s lack of transparency had caused the impasse but commended the collaborative spirit of the meeting.
“People were failing to work together as a team, but I am happy that from today’s meeting, parties found each other. I also realised that in terms of recommendations, while other stakeholders put forward theirs, the council failed to do the same,” said Mr Nare.
He said during their engagements, BCC claimed that the increases were being fuelled by the market as prices of goods and services were constantly going up.
“We did our investigations together with CZI and ZNCC and our findings were that most businesses had zero or minimal increases in United States dollars which made us conclude that BCC was not being honest about the matter,” said Mr Nare.
Ends
mbulelo smpofu
