Staff Reporter
MASVINGO – Economic analysts have lauded Masvingo City Council for engaging residents on budget consultations saying the move produces a budget that reflects on what residents want.
Masvingo City Council presented a US$ 23.6 million which translates to ZW$ 40.9 billion on November 25 after a series of consultations with residents.
Economist Dr Regret Sunge said the budget is an outcome of consultations that were done in accordance with the constitution of Zimbabwe, the Public Finance Act as well as the Urban Councils Act Chapter 29 section 15.
“The reason for consultations is for residents and ratepayers to give their input into the budget in terms of projects and what needs to be done in the community to improve social welfare, issues to do with water and sanitation, street lighting, health centres where a lot needs to be done due to the ballooning population.
“So the consultations were very important because without them, the budget won’t be successful because residents are the ones who pay and are affected by the services offered. So the most important thing is for council and residents to come together and agree then move forward because development is a result of the two working together. The consultations were really important because the ratepayers need to have ownership of the budget as if that is not the case, they may protest and not pay services and the budget can only be approved if all stockholders have put their input,” said Dr Sunge.
He also commended council on its move to have a budget in US dollars adding that it safe guards the budget since local currency is easily affected by inflation.
“The budget is primarily in US$, meaning the rates will be paid in US$. The move is aimed at trying to safeguard the value of the budget as Zimbabwe is in an inflationary environment so that was a good strategy and we expect better services,” he added.
Dr Sunge said though residents may not have easy access to foreign currency, the situation was a 50-50 between residents and council as long as the two meet their obligations, that is residents paying rates and council improving service delivery.
“It’s a 50 50 situation between residents and council as long as they meet their obligations. What residents want is good service delivery and now council cannot blame inflation, once residents get what they deserve, they will pay once the payment translates into good services,” said Dr Sunge.
Another economist Collen Jonas said public consultations on budgets are key in improving transparency and accountability in resource use saying it enhances efficiency so the move by council to consult the public on budget is commendable.
“Feedback received through consultations ensures buy-in to council plans by residents so consultations are important as they allow residents to take ownership of council plans just as it is key for any other public policy,” said Jonas.
He went on to say residents should track the budget from revenue collection and the uses since they are the owners of it.
They fund council operations so they need to understand how things are done.
“The public have interests in the budget process, both revenue collection and spending, as they are basically the ones who contribute to council revenues and also as they are the recipients of council services like refuse collection.
“They need to understand how much council needs to provide them the much-needed services, assert how much they can contribute, in terms of the rates, and also place their demands/expectations from council,” added Jonas.
The 2023 budget will be presented for approval by the ministry of local government.
