TENDAI BHEBE IN BULAWAYO
The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has said the proposed budget for 2022 which will see residents in some suburbs paying at least ZWL$12 000 for rates is designed to make the local authority provide services to ratepayers.
The Finance and Development Committee Councillor, Tawanda Ruzive said BCC also has fixed costs which have to be paid.
“Basically we want finance for service provision, we need the sewer, the water, we need the lighting. We have not delivered very well as we are expected to do over this year. So under the circumstances these figures are fair,” Ruzive said.
“As your local authority which has permanent employees, permanent infrastructure there are those fixed costs which we have to pay even if we are seated at home, we can’t run away from those.”
The budget has continued to be eaten up like for these past two years without doing much really on the ground.
“We are saying 2022 it’s a budget which is post Covid-19 and we need to try and catch up. The biggest problem that we have in the city is our water system which to an extent has improved slightly. If we are going to compare with 2020 whereby we would go weeks without water,” Ruzive said.
“It has really improved but it can be better. Now our infrastructure is so old and remember we are working on an infrastructure which was put in the 70s.We are going to blame the local authority itself and central government for not reinvesting more on the infrastructure be it sewer system or our water system.”
He said councillors will consult residents on the proposed budget.
Speaking during a consultative meeting with the media last week, the Town Clerk, Christopher Dube, said the proposed budget was the fairest which they could come up with.
“Yes, we have some residents who have said these figures are too much, of which we will then go back and reconsider our submissions to our stakeholders. However, this is the fairest budget that we have done as a council,” Dube said.
According to the proposed figures residents will pay 155% more for rates and rentals and 170 % more for water.
They will also experience a 300% more for refuse collection, 160% more for fixed sewerage charge, 170% more for the pipeline charge, 450% more percent on licences, 250% more for rents, 450% more for fees and 109% more for income interest.
The local authority further revealed that according to the tariff increase, residents in Ward One will pay ZWL$12 146 in rates alone before they factor in water usage.
Ward One covers most parts of the Central Business District. Ward Two residents will pay ZWL$5 806, Ward Three and Five,ZWL$8 025, Ward Four; ZWL$10 878, Ward Six; ZWL$7 391, Wards Seven ZWL$3 451 and Ward eight, 10,11,12,14,16,22,23, 24,25,26 and 27, ZWL$3 578.
As for residents in Ward nine they will pay ZWL$3 594 while those in Ward 13; ZWL$3 229 and those living in wards15,17,18,19,20,21,28 and 29 will pay monthly tariffs of ZWL$3 324.
What it means is that residents from affluent suburbs will pay more, with residents from western suburbs having the least increase.
