THE Bulawayo City Council is set to hold the second phase of 2015 budget consultations spread over an eight-day period from tomorrow in all 29 wards, weeks after they were postponed. Chief Reporter The first phase was held in early August. The aim of the consultation meetings is to set out implementation challenges for 2015, confirm priority areas for the year and agree on options for financing.
Budget consultations are usually contentious, with residents usually demanding a budget that prioritises service delivery, though there is apathy with some reluctant to attend.
The local authority last year announced a $114 million budget for 2014, but in April the government ordered the local authority to slash it by $10 million.
The city lost $47 million after the government ordered State institutions and local authorities to write off debts accrued by residents from February 2009 to the end of June 2013.
In a notice yesterday, Bulawayo acting town clerk Sikhangele Zhou said the meetings — to be facilitated by ward councillors — would be open to transport operators, residents’ associations, civil society, the media, political parties and informal traders.
Primary schools and community halls will be used as venues for the meetings. Last year, most of the meetings were poorly attended.
In recent years, meetings have been attracting low attendance with most stakeholders saying their input was largely ignored.
The 2015 budget consultations come at a time council is battling to recover over $80 million it is owed in unpaid bills by residents and government departments since June last year.
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Council blames poor service delivery on the failure by residents and government departments to clear debts.
Most of the council’s revenue used to come from industries, but following the closure and relocation of many companies, the base shrunk drastically. Close to 100 companies have closed shop in Bulawayo in the past few years.
