The long-delayed approval of Bulawayo City Councilโs (BCC) 2025 budget is finally set to be finalised and approved on Thursday after the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works intervened to resolve disputes between the local authority, business leaders and residents.
This breakthrough followed an โacrimoniousโ standoff that had left Bulawayo as the only local authority among Zimbabweโs 92 local authorities without an approved budget, raising fears of stalled service delivery and development.
Addressing journalists after the stakeholder meeting on Thursday at the Bulawayo council chambers, local government minister, Daniel Garwe, confirmed financial specialists from the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), residentsโ associations, council officials, and government experts were finalising adjustments to contentious areas in the cityโs budget.
The minister described Thursdayโs mediation meeting as a critical step in resolving deep-seated tensions between the council and stakeholders.
โWe had a very fruitful meeting this morning with fiercely warring parties,โ Garwe said.
โThe Residents Associations as represented by their leadership, the CZI membership representing the business community in the City of Bulawayo, religious organisations and all the Councillors and the officers from the City of Bulawayo. The areas of disagreements, one was the budget preparation processes. The residents as represented were saying they were never consulted, they were not being consulted for the longest, and there were certain areas where Bulawayo City Council (BCC) were charging rates exorbitantly high.โ
Garwe also said there was a breakdown in relations between the council and stakeholders.
โThe relationship between individuals in the City and the business communities leaves a lot to be desired,โ he stated.
โIn many other areas of service delivery that they complained about, the local authorities also made a presentation, indeed in certain areas in terms of their budget they presented to the Minister of Local Government.โ
The minister said BCC was charging rates that are sub-optimal, โbelow all what the local authorities are charging.โ
โIn other areas they were charging exorbitantly high. We then called the parties together and emphasised more importantly on the need to be able to work together,โ he added.
To address these disputes, the minister established a technical team comprising financial experts from the business community, residentsโ associations, BCCโs finance director and the ministry of Local Government finance specialists.
โThey are working on the bolts and nuts of the areas of disagreement to harmonise the figures,โ Garwe said.
โWe donโt want the local authority to lose money. Where they were charging too low, they must adjust to match other councils. Where they were charging excessively high, they must reduce so that they are in harmony with other local authorities.โ
The minister assured Bulawayoโs budget would be approved before close of business on Thursday, ending months of delays.
A major sticking point that Garwe highlighted was the toxic relationship between council officials and stakeholders.
โEven in areas where individuals had acrimonious relationships who have agreed that will cause a meeting, where we called the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor, the Town Clerk and the Chamber Secretary from the Council side, and the leadership of the business community and the residentsโ association on the other, to a meeting where we have cordial discussions and show that they have a working relationship,โ he said.
โCouncillors are a product of the residents, because they are the ones who voted them into office, so they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity as human beings, or in terms of our constitution.โ
At the same time, the minister said they also advised the business community to also respect the local authority.
โCity fathers and their officers are the ones that have been given mandate by the residents, by the way, to provide the service delivery for BCC. Service delivery, that is what they were promised to deliver at the time of going to elections.โ
Moving forward, the minister directed the council to adopt inclusive budgeting processes, making sure residents and businesses are consulted at every stage.
โWe also agreed that from now going forward, the council must develop a culture of preparing budgets on wide consultations with the stakeholders, and the business community are part of the stakeholders,โ Garwe said.
The minister also urged residents to actively participate in future consultations, including master plans for drainage and urban development.
โAnd the residents, whenever there is an advert put on paper, we humbly request you to participate because this is your city. Please participate,โhe appealed.
Bulawayoโs US$309 million 2025 budget, a 17 percent increase from 2024, was reportedly initially flagged by Chief Secretary Dr Martin Rushwaya, who cited irregularities in its formulation.
A special budget committee was later formed, including council representatives, business leaders, residentsโ associations, tertiary institutions and tourism stakeholders
However, disagreements, reportedly over salary disclosures, led to a deadlock.
Minister Garwe emphasised that the budget resolution aligns with Zimbabweโs Vision 2030 goals, where well-managed cities are key to achieving upper-middle-income status.
โThis is the reason why the local authority has been created, to ensure that there is service delivery that speaks to an upper middle income economy status by 2030, and the journey starts now,โ he said.
โBe it in water supply, be it in refuse collection, be it in sewer management, be it in beautification and many other areas of service delivery, including budgeting is a service delivery.โ
