Zimpapers Logo

Lingani Nyika, Chronicle Reporter
THE Victoria Falls City Council was yesterday forced to cancel some budget consultative meetings after residents demanded to be furnished with the local authority’s expenditure details.

Council officials who were conducting the meeting at the local authority boardroom failed to provide details of how council was spending and instead distributed minutes of a council meeting held in February this year.

This angered residents who vowed to make sure no meeting takes place until they get the information.

The supplementary budget meetings were supposed to be held last week but were postponed as council was not ready.

Government recently ordered the 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 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 a remedy to the local authority.

The council had lined up ward meetings starting Tuesday until Thursday.

Yesterday meetings were scheduled at council boardroom for Wards One and Two while Chinotimba Hall was venue for wards four, five and six.

The Ward Two meeting failed to take place mid-morning as mayor Councillor Somveli Dlamini announced that the meeting had been cancelled following demands by Ward One residents earlier for the council’s expenditure details.

Residents are accusing the local authority of spending funds on unnecessary demands.

The mayor said meetings will resume on Thursday.

“The meeting will be adjourned to Thursday to pave way for management to put together the missing documents which have been requested by the residents,” said Cllr Dlamini.

A resident Mrs Sifiso Sibanda said ratepayers will not give up.

“When we come to such meetings, we expect to know what council intends to collect from people and what they intend to use the money for. We did not get that so that is why the meeting has been adjourned but we do expect to get both figures for the revenue and what the money is going to be used for and how much residents will be required to pay,” said Mrs Sibanda.

Matabeleland North Affirmative Action Group chairperson Mr Tonderai Mutasa urged council to consider the economic situation and do away with unnecessary expenditures.

“We are expecting a pro-people supplementary budget. Residents can’t afford the current rates hence council should come up with a revised budget dating back to January.” -@NyikaLingani