Bulawayo City Council (BCC) town clerk, Christopher Dube said that the city is on the edge of a precipice financially.
Dube revealed that BCC is seeking to increase its budget by over 100 per cent.
Presenting 2019 proposed supplementary budget to the city’s business community during a consultative meeting at the council chambers, Dube said:
Projects which council had budgeted for might not be undertaken owing to the price escalations.
This has forced us to propose an upward review of the 2019 budget from RTGS$212 million to RTGS$475 million.
It’s therefore against this background that the city council is carrying out consultative meetings to ensure the input of residents is included in the final decision.
Recent developments in the country’s economy such as high inflation, currency rates and distortions have necessitated council to come up with a supplementary budget.
The 2019 budget which was submitted in 2018 to the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing for approval has already been eroded by inflation.
We’re in a difficult situation and we have to work together so that we don’t forgo our capital projects and let the council go down under. We want to survive as the city council that’s why we’re asking for a little more.
BCC finance director Kimpton Ndimande said that there is a need for the council to increase rates, rentals and fees in order to
keep things working.
Businesses, however, feel that the council should create other avenues for revenues rather than relying solely on rates.