Published by the government of Zimbabwe
11 November 2009
Harare — SEVENTY percent of the 2010 Harare City budget should go towards service delivery while the remainder should cater for salaries and administration, residents have said.
Rates and tariffs should also reflect the socio-economic realities.
The city budget should address the issue of two sets of bills by combining the rates and water bills into one invoice.
Harare's two main residents associations the Combined Harare Residents' Association and the Harare Residents' Trust -- are all agreed that the 2010 budget should emphasise service delivery.
CHRA chief executive officer Mr Barnabas Mangodza yesterday said the budget should provide for water availability, ambulances, drugs, public toilets, refuse collection, road upgrading and improvement of amenities such as libraries and social centres.
"The average earnings of residents must inform the pegging of tariffs," said Mr Mangodza. He said revenue generated from council business entities such as Rufaro Marketing, parks and stadiums, should be reflected in the budget.
"Council must bear in mind that residents are not the oasis of their financial aridity and must, therefore, be aggressive in investing in long-term revenue generation projects," he said.
HRT co-ordinator Mr Precious Shumba yesterday echoed the same sentiments, saying that council should subsidise rates for senior citizens and should reduce the interest on overdue accounts from the current 51 percent per annum to between 5 and 10 percent.
It was felt the charges for water should take into account assistance by donors who had in the past provided huge amounts of water treatment chemicals.
Residents felt the current system where they queued separately to pay for water and rates was wrong, arguing that the bills should be combined. Contacted for comment yesterday, city treasurer Mr Misheck Mubvumbi said the capital budget had passed the committee stages, implying that it was ready for presentation to council.
"We are now finalising the revenue budget. The budget should be presented to council by end of November," he said.
The city has been facing a number of problems, chief among them failure to supply water, collect garbage and provide street lighting.
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