The City of Bulawayo has adopted a US$440.6 million budget for 2027, featuring a 50% general tariff increase and new monthly levies on property owners and businesses to finance road rehabilitation, public lighting and disaster preparedness.
The increases are expected to raise operating costs for households and businesses at a time when residents continue to face challenges with water supply, roads, sewer infrastructure and other municipal services.
Presenting the budget, Finance and Development Committee chairperson Councillor Dumisani Nkomo said the city had struggled to keep up with the rising cost of service delivery.
“For the past four years, since 2022, Council has operated what is in effect a stand-still budget. Charges have not kept pace with the cost of running services, and the result is visible in our ageing water and sewer networks, our roads, our fleet and our social amenities,” Nkomo said.
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The budget allocates US$310.5 million to recurrent expenditure and US$130.1 million to capital projects, representing about 30% of the total.
Under the new charges, domestic property owners would pay a US$10 monthly roads levy, while businesses would pay between US$20 and US$100, depending on the size of their stands. The levy is expected to generate about US$20.8 million annually for road rehabilitation.
A further US$2 monthly public lighting levy on each property is projected to raise US$3.87 million a year, while a disaster preparedness levy equivalent to 2% of the annual budget is expected to generate about US$8.7 million. Shop licence fees are also proposed to increase by 3%.
Nkomo said the increases were necessary to address the city’s infrastructure challenges.
“These are difficult decisions. They are necessary to end four years of stand-still budgets, to arrest the decay of our infrastructure and to move Bulawayo towards its vision of a leading, smart and sustainable City by 2030,” he said.
The proposed budget follows 38 consultation meetings attended by 2,619 people. The council said 35 meetings rejected the initial proposed 74% tariff increase, while 36 opposed the original roads levy.
Following the consultations, the council reduced the general tariff increase to 50% and revised the roads levy, introducing stepped charges for commercial properties.
About 69% of the capital programme is expected to be financed through borrowing and the Public Sector Investment Programme. The council plans to seek about US$89.5 million in bond funding, with projected monthly repayments of US$1.3 million over 15 years at an interest rate of 15%.
The proposal also provides for rates rebates for elderly residents and support for vulnerable learners.
The council’s ability to deliver the planned projects will depend on revenue collection, access to government funding and its capacity to meet the proposed borrowing obligations.
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