Council 2015 budget consultations start

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THE Bulawayo City Council will start its 2015 budget consultations on Saturday in the 29 wards with expectations high that it will consolidate service delivery and attract more investors to the city.

THE Bulawayo City Council will start its 2015 budget consultations on Saturday in the 29 wards with expectations high that it will consolidate service delivery and attract more investors to the city.

Chief Reporter

Council 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 town clerk Middleton Nyoni said the first consultations would run from Wednesday to August 9.

The meetings — to be facilitated by ward councillors — are 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.

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.

Council blames poor service delivery on the failure by residents and government departments to clear their debts.

Most of the council’s revenue used to come from industries, but following the closure and relocation of many companies, the base shrinked drastically.

Close to 100 companies closed shop in Bulawayo in the past few years.

The collapse of the city’s once vibrant industry has been attributed to a myriad of problems, chief among them operational challenges and the liquidity crunch.

Over 20 000 workers were reportedly thrown out of employment after some companies closed and others were struggling to pay their utility bills to service providers such as council.