News / National
Bulawayo City Council forced to revise 2025 budget
4 hrs ago | Views
Following a heated meeting with business representatives, residents' associations, and other key stakeholders, the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has been compelled to revise its proposed 2025 budget. The revision comes after significant criticism of the council's 2025 budget proposal, particularly its controversial tariff adjustments.
The meeting, chaired by Ms. Priscillar Mudzinge, the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works' director of local authorities' inspectorate, was attended by representatives from the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) Matabeleland Chapter, the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC), tourism industry players, and academic institutions. After extensive discussions, it was agreed that the revised budget should be based on the 2017 tariff figures.
A new committee, made up of industry leaders, residents' groups, tourism sector representatives, and academia, has been tasked with crafting the revised budget. The committee is expected to finalize the revisions by December 20 and present the updated budget to the Ministry by January 7, 2025.
The decision to revise the budget follows sharp criticism from the CZI Matabeleland Chamber and the ZNCC, which accused BCC of miscalculating tariff adjustments for 2022 and 2023. These alleged miscalculations resulted in steep increases in charges, which forced many businesses to downsize or relocate to more business-friendly cities.
In September, BCC had presented a US$309 million budget for 2025, aimed at enhancing service delivery, focusing on gender-specific projects, and revitalizing the city's recreational facilities. However, after concerns were raised by the business community regarding the high operational costs resulting from the 2024 budget, the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr. Martin Rushwaya, directed the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works not to approve the proposed budget until the issues were addressed.
CZI Matabeleland Chamber had previously accused BCC of using an incorrect formula to index tariffs for 2022 and 2023 in US dollars, leading to exorbitant charges. Despite several meetings between the business community and BCC officials, as well as Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Judith Ncube, no resolution was reached, resulting in a deadlock.
In response, Acting Town Clerk Mrs. Sikhangele Zhou acknowledged the concerns raised by the business community and indicated that the new budget would reflect inflation-adjusted increases from 2017 to 2025. She emphasized that the revised budget would aim to strike a balance between affordability and improved 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. "The council is saying 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 decision to revert to the 2017 tariff figures, calling it a huge relief for both industry and residents. He expressed hope that this resolution would help rejuvenate Bulawayo's industrial sector, which had stagnated due to high operational costs.
"We are excited that we have found common ground 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," said Mr. Ncube. "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 added that the 2025 budget, to be presented in January, would be based on accurate financial data rather than estimates.
Bulawayo United Residents Association (BURA) Secretary-General, Mr. Edward Nare, commended the meeting's collaborative atmosphere but criticized the council for its lack of transparency in previous engagements. He also expressed concerns that BCC had failed to present its own recommendations during the meeting.
"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 led us to conclude that BCC was not being honest about the matter," said Mr. Nare.
The revised budget is expected to address these concerns, with a focus on creating a more business-friendly environment while maintaining necessary service delivery improvements for Bulawayo's residents.
The meeting, chaired by Ms. Priscillar Mudzinge, the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works' director of local authorities' inspectorate, was attended by representatives from the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) Matabeleland Chapter, the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC), tourism industry players, and academic institutions. After extensive discussions, it was agreed that the revised budget should be based on the 2017 tariff figures.
A new committee, made up of industry leaders, residents' groups, tourism sector representatives, and academia, has been tasked with crafting the revised budget. The committee is expected to finalize the revisions by December 20 and present the updated budget to the Ministry by January 7, 2025.
The decision to revise the budget follows sharp criticism from the CZI Matabeleland Chamber and the ZNCC, which accused BCC of miscalculating tariff adjustments for 2022 and 2023. These alleged miscalculations resulted in steep increases in charges, which forced many businesses to downsize or relocate to more business-friendly cities.
In September, BCC had presented a US$309 million budget for 2025, aimed at enhancing service delivery, focusing on gender-specific projects, and revitalizing the city's recreational facilities. However, after concerns were raised by the business community regarding the high operational costs resulting from the 2024 budget, the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr. Martin Rushwaya, directed the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works not to approve the proposed budget until the issues were addressed.
CZI Matabeleland Chamber had previously accused BCC of using an incorrect formula to index tariffs for 2022 and 2023 in US dollars, leading to exorbitant charges. Despite several meetings between the business community and BCC officials, as well as Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Judith Ncube, no resolution was reached, resulting in a deadlock.
In response, Acting Town Clerk Mrs. Sikhangele Zhou acknowledged the concerns raised by the business community and indicated that the new budget would reflect inflation-adjusted increases from 2017 to 2025. She emphasized that the revised budget would aim to strike a balance between affordability and improved 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. "The council is saying 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 decision to revert to the 2017 tariff figures, calling it a huge relief for both industry and residents. He expressed hope that this resolution would help rejuvenate Bulawayo's industrial sector, which had stagnated due to high operational costs.
"We are excited that we have found common ground 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," said Mr. Ncube. "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 added that the 2025 budget, to be presented in January, would be based on accurate financial data rather than estimates.
Bulawayo United Residents Association (BURA) Secretary-General, Mr. Edward Nare, commended the meeting's collaborative atmosphere but criticized the council for its lack of transparency in previous engagements. He also expressed concerns that BCC had failed to present its own recommendations during the meeting.
"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 led us to conclude that BCC was not being honest about the matter," said Mr. Nare.
The revised budget is expected to address these concerns, with a focus on creating a more business-friendly environment while maintaining necessary service delivery improvements for Bulawayo's residents.
Source - the chronicle
