By Courage Dutiro
Residents in Masvingo City have called for the establishment of an independent board that receives and reviews budget objections.
Speaking at a Public Finance Management (PFM) training held by the Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET) on June 12, 2025, Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Alliance (Murra) director Anoziva Muguti said there was need for the establishment of an independent board to receive objections from residents..
“As residents, we are happy that most of our input on the current budget were included in the City’s budget.
“However we have a challenge, our budget objection proposals in the previous years were not taken care of by the City Council. As of this, people sometimes give up, as their objections may not be taken into consideration.
“The challenge we are facing is that the City Council, who prepares the budget, will be the same council receiving our objections. I believe there is need for an independent board to receive and review these objections, rather than having the same institution we are disagreeing with on certain budget issues to also handle the objections,” said Muguti.
In February this year, the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works approved the City of Masvingo’s US$35.2 million budget for the 2025 fiscal year.
According to the City Council, the budget was formulated after extensive stakeholder consultations and aims to ensure sustainable service delivery.
The City Council allocated 55 percent of the budget to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).
Emmaculate Moyo from the Labour and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe (LEDRIZ) in her presentation at the event said there was need for the local authority to ensure inclusive participation of all community groups in the public finance management system.
“Residents have the right to know how their money is collected and used. Poor PFM affects service delivery including public health so residents should play a part in PFM,” said Moyo.
In 2024 Viset with other stakeholders in Masvingo played a part in encouraging residents to take part in the budget consultations.
