By Beatific Gumbwanda
Chiredzi Rural District Council (CRDC) recently presented its ZWG$235 million 2025 budget premised mainly on infrastructural development across the district.
This includes the establishment and maintenance of road networks, construction of shopping malls, erection of solar powered boreholes as well as servicing and development of 1 000 stands on the remainder of Buffalo Range among others.
Through its 2025 budgetary projections, CRDC has exhibited it’s potential to take over and develop 400 hectares, which is part of the 750 hectares on the remainder of Buffalo Range which they jointly own with Chiredzi Town Council (CTC), where Full Life Open Arms Investment (FLOAI) Private Limited was developing and servicing 350 hectares.
Presenting the 2025 budget in a full council meeting recently, CRDC Finance Committee Chairperson, Waini Marufu indicated that through the local authority’s vision, ‘to grow the District’s GDP by 5percent by the year 2025′, the budget was programme based, devolving on indigenous resources running under 2024’s positive economic trajectory budget theme (Resilience for sustainable economic transformation).
“We shall efficiently and effectively utilise our geographical resource as our budget is programme based devolving on indigenous resources,” said Marufu.
The key operational budget activities highlighted the local authority’s focus which is premised on infrastructural development in commerce, housing, education, health, road networking as well as water and sanitation in communities.
“The 2025 Financial Year focus will be skewed towards the following key operational activities:- Finding investors and partners in the construction of commercial shopping malls, Finding development partners/borrowings to service and develop 1 000 stands for the remainder of Buffalo Range, to develop by-laws to enforce licensing, Public Health, Property Management, Building by-laws, Domestic Animals and undeveloped stands within the district,” Marufu said.
He said the budget seeks to maintain 700 kilometres of council gravel road and open 20 kilometres of new roads in resettlement areas and communal areas, to construct two secondary schools’ science laboratories and also complete the construction of eight health care centers.
He also highlighted that NGOs were to drill and install two solar powered community piped water systems and council to equip fifty solar powered community water systems.
The budget will be ZWG$234 012 011.70 with ZWG$130 735 511.70 being their own revenue and ZWG$103 276 500.00 being government fiscal transfers.
“Council is going to spend some ZWG$160 669 091.10 in water and sanitation, education, health, road construction and rehabilitation, electricity, agriculture and also in the construction of council administration offices.
“Transfers from central government will find most of the capital projects complemented with councils domestic funding,” said Marufu.
