Concerns over outdated technology and the expiry of key software licences have sparked debate within the Bulawayo City Council (BCC), with councillors warning that the situation is disrupting service delivery and weakening revenue collection.
The issue is contained in the latest council report under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) section.
Councillor Mxolisi Mahlangu warned that expired system licences were undermining council operations and called for urgent reforms to modernise the local authority’s IT infrastructure.
“Council should acquire a system that integrates most of its functions. We should upgrade our IT systems, go paperless and adopt a coordinated online platform,” he said.
He also urged council to engage a single service provider to ensure that system licences are renewed on time.
The expiry of licences for critical systems, including the AS400, which is used for billing and administrative functions, has created operational challenges for the local authority.
When licences lapse, billing processes are disrupted, revenue collection is delayed and staff are forced to rely on manual systems, which councillors say are slow and inefficient. In previous instances, the failure of such systems has reportedly resulted in significant revenue losses.
Councillor Ntandoyenkosi Ndlovu questioned why council continued to rely solely on the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system despite its limitations.
Meanwhile, Councillor Mmeli Moyo proposed that the ICT section be upgraded into a fully-fledged department to improve efficiency.
“I felt that the section lacks an innovative space to effectively execute most of its functions,” he said.
Ward 26 councillor and committee chairperson Mpumelelo Moyo warned that licence expirations could have a direct impact on service delivery across the city.
Responding to the concerns, Assistant Financial Director Isaac Matare said council was currently being granted only 30 minutes of scheduled system access while awaiting licence renewal.
He said although alternative systems were available on the market, licence costs were prohibitively high.
“Council has continued to use the BIQ system because of the astronomical costs associated with other licences,” he said.
Mr Matare added that some local authorities that had migrated to alternative systems had failed to generate water bills, forcing government to advise them to revert to the BIQ system.
He told councillors that the BIQ platform remained the most suitable option as it consolidated most council functions into a single system.
Mr Matare also said the ICT section now had a dedicated unit responsible for managing software licences and ensuring timely renewals. He added that the council had been authorised by the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) to renew system licences.
He said delays in awarding tenders were largely due to procurement regulations requiring that all bidders be given a fair opportunity to participate.
Town Clerk Christopher Dube said council management had already discussed the establishment of a dedicated IT department.
He said a proposal was under consideration to create a Corporate Services Department that would house all technical services, including ICT.
However, Mr Dube said the move would require a job evaluation exercise by the Human Capital Department, noting that government had already directed the council to conduct such an exercise.
“A tender for the job evaluation process is currently in progress,” he said.
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