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Leonard Ncube, [email protected]

GOVERNMENT has rejected Hwange Local Board (HLB)’s budget proposal for 2024 over failure to submit audited financial reports, employ a finance manager and having lower than 20 percent revenue collection.

Hwange residents have said they have lost faith in the  council leadership, which they accuse of not being pro-service delivery resulting in some people reportedly boycotting paying bills and rates, which is further crippling the local authority.

HLB  administers the eastern side of Hwange town mainly Baobab, Empumalanga and Chibondo areas although the composition of its councillors includes those representing concession areas managed by Hwange Colliery Company, Zimbabwe Power Company and the National Railways of Zimbabwe. 

After submitting its 2024 budget proposal to Government, HLB  and Harare City Council were the only two out of 92 local authorities whose budgets were rejected.

Government has over the years  expressed concern over a number of grey areas in the budget making process by local authorities including delays in submitting their budgets, failure to implement recommendations from the Auditor General and Parliament of Zimbabwe, as well as falling short of meeting some governance issues.

Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Permanent  Secretary, Mr Nick Mangwana, said all 92 local authorities presented their proposed budgets to the respective provincial budget assessment teams. 

“A large number of other local  authorities have had their budgets approved subject to a number of issues being addressed,” he said in a recent post on is X account. 

“Two local authorities, Hwange Local Board and Harare  City Council have had their budgets rejected outright whilst the majority of local authorities have had budgets approved subject to a number of issues being addressed.”

HLB acting town secretary, Mr Paul Mabhureni, had not responded to questions sent to him since Tuesday. However, in an interview, Greater Whange Residents Trust coordinator Mr  Fidelis Chima said residents had lost trust in the local authority after several failed attempts to engage on sticking issues.

He implored the Government to speed up the incorporation of concession wards and that water management be solely managed by HLB. 

He said this would address challenges of poor revenue collection.

“As GWRT we are not surprised that the ministry rejected the budget because of failure to submit audited reports. We  have been writing to HLB requesting to see audited reports and we were not successful at all,” said Mr Chima. 

“The reason they gave us was that  the Ministry of Local Government auditors were demanding a lot of money for the audit to be done.

 

“Residents have lost faith in HLB because it is failing to make audited reports public and there are suspicions that rate payers’ money is being abused,” he added. 

“Some residents  are no longer paying rates because council is not transparent with financial reports. If the issue of financial reports and incorporation are not addressed, I don’t think HLB will be able to collect enough revenue,” said Mr Chima.

Residents, believe women and girls will be the worst affected by poor service delivery as the coal mining town already has a challenge with services  especially for the vulnerable groups.

Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe Hwange Chapter chair  Ms Sithembinkosi Ndlovu bemoaned poor service delivery, which she said will be worsened by absence of an approved budget.

“As women we are largely affected because service delivery largely depends on finance and the HLB has unaudited financial reports since 2020 and no finance manager who can make decisions with regards to finances,” she said. 

“The  acting finance officer is a finance clerk and that alone cripples decision making and projects are on halt and service delivery is very poor as we face water challenges continuously  while revenue collection is always very low less than 20 percent.” 

HLB sometimes relies on devolution funds because of low revenue collections. The local authority has, however, in the past been actively engaging its rate payers encouraging them to pay up through various strategies.

HLB is one of the four local boards in Matabeleland North including Lupane as well as newly established Binga and Tsholotsho. 

Victoria Falls City Council is the only urban council in the province.