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Patrick Chitumba, [email protected]

THE Ministry of Local Government and Public Works has rejected the Gokwe Town Council 2024 budget, after failing to comply with the requirements of the “A Call to Action” blueprint, as the local authority operated without key personnel to drive its mandate.

President Mnangagwa officially launched the local authority blueprint titled: “A Call to Action — No compromise to service delivery: First stage of interventions to modernise the operations of local authorities towards a 2030 Vision” last year.

Gokwe Town Council has been given up to April 30 to submit a revised budget supported by documents and a roadmap to address the issues raised by the ministry.

The local authority had tabled a $5,4 billion budget, which it had said would focus on accelerated service delivery and provision of social service infrastructure to improve the livelihoods and quality of lives for residents and stakeholders as guided by the National Development Strategy (NDS 1).

In a letter addressed to Gokwe town secretary, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, Dr John Basera, rejected the budget in terms of Section 47 (1) of the Public Finance Management Act Chapter 22:19.

Dr Basera noted that Gokwe Town Council did not have key personnel to drive its mandate and directed it to plan and budget for the recruitment of a capable town secretary and other key vacant posts.

“Council does not have a vibrant integrated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). It must provide a plan for the optimisation of the ERP and a budget for the plan. Council has no adequate by-laws, policy and standard operating procedures to regulate operations of council and there is no provision in the budget to improve the situation,” read part of the letter signed by Dr Basera.

He said the proposed budget also highlighted that Gokwe Town Council does not have a strategy to deal with statutory cost arrears.

“These shortfalls in the budget did not show the town’s commitment to the “A Call to Action” by His Excellency, President Mnangagwa hence the rejection of the budget. A revised budget supported by documents and roadmaps to address the issues raised must be submitted by the 30th of April 2024,” said Dr Basera

Former acting town secretary, Mr Alexander Nyandoro, who was initially sent on forced leave, was suspended recently over a slew of allegations.

Mr Nyandoro has been acting since the dismissal of former town secretary, Ms Melania Mandeya in 2020 over criminal abuse of office charges.

The acting town secretary, Mr Joconia Nyoni was fired together with Ms Mandeya before he was later reinstated by the Local Government Board last year.

Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister, Owen Ncube recently directed Gokwe Town Council to put its house in order and focus more on service delivery.

In 2022, the Auditor-General red-flagged Gokwe Town Council for poor governance. This was after the local authority allocated a commercial stand measuring 8   750m² to the council chairperson without following due processes in 2018.