TellZim Reporter
Mutare City Council’s 2023 budget was approved by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works paving way for the local authority to start implementing its projects for the financial year ahead.
Confirming the development to TellZim News, Acting Finance Director Reuben Guni said the earlier approval ZW$ 45 billion (US$ 61 934 015) of the budget would go a long way in enhancing effective and timeous service delivery to the residents.
“The approval would aid us on service delivery since we would collect using the new tariff. This January, we are going to bill using the approved tariffs which would help us to kick start intended projects,” said Guni.
The local authority also highlighted some of the key issues in their budget whose allocations are pegged in US$.
City Wide Street Lighting (US$ 21 200 000)
This project is one of the major beneficiaries from the budget cake. As said by Guni, the project is meant for the whole of Mutare including the Central Business District (CBD) as well as residential areas. The project would follow up solar street lights installed in the previous years.
Roads
A total of US$ 2 499 037 has been budgeted towards roads upgrade and maintenance according to breakdown provided by the Acting Finance Director. Another US$ 250 000 has been set for the roads excavation.
Water
US$ 2 502 981 was budgeted for works on non-revenue water. Also an additional US$ 300 000 is set to be directed towards city water augmentation by council. Mutare has in the past experienced acute water shortages on the part of residents due to dilapidated infrastructure as well as alleged vandalism. Some high density suburbs like Sakubva suffered the brunt prompting residents to seek explanation from the city fathers.
Sewer Infrastructure maintenance
Mutare also budgeted a total of US$ 1 538 318 for the maintenance of sewer infrastructure. The city was at one point accused of polluting river water through emission of raw sewage as well as industrial and institutional waste in to the natural water bodies.
Stands servicing
Turning to provision of accommodation to home seekers, Mutare has set aside a total of US$ 1.2 million for the purpose of servicing stands in the Manicaland capital.
Education
Provision of quality education is another area Mutare has prioritized in their 2023 financial plans. The city budgeted US$ 505 340 for the construction of Gimboki school.
Health
In terms of health services provision, Mutare City Council plans to divert US$ 194 361 towards the construction of Hobhouse clinic.
Fire fighting
Mutare also is set to use a total of US$ 650 000 to upgrade its fire station with the purchase of a fire tender on the cards as one of the major projects.
Solid waste management
A total of US$ 403 040 has been budgeted for the procurement of a land fill dozer to be used in improving solid waste management matters. Failure by council to ensure effective solid waste management by collecting refuse timeously also led to proliferation of undesignated dumpsites.
Social amenities
The city’s other recreational facility Sakubva stadium that has been reportedly in dire state and being overwhelmed by sporting activities is set to account for US$ 200 000 of the budget. Towards the end of 2022, the stadium was banned from hosting Premier Soccer League (PSL) matches by the authorities as it was in bad state mainly due to being over used.
