Proposed council budget shocks residents

By Paul Pindani

CHINHOYI – RESIDENTS across the town are in shock and extremely dismayed by the proposed budget tabled by The Municipality of Chinhoyi.
Some of the residents told Telegraph that the local authority’s proposed budget was “not user friendly” to the residents.
Arnold Goredema, from Cold Stream, said in these days of economic distress, the hardships of ordinary persons had been exacerbated by compromised and collapsed service delivery from the local authorities.
Goredema said several suburbs had run dry for over a month while sewerage was flowing freely through the streets and anarchy was the order of the day in places meant to be of public convenience as cases of robberies were rising by the day, thanks to the absence of functional street lighting.
He said the last thing residents expected was to come face-to-face with a pro-elite budget that confirms the residents’ fears that local authorities have over the years been turned into feeding trough for the elite and the connected.
“It baffles the mind how a full council of men and women assumed to have some conscience find the guts to devote twice the amount of money toward the purchase of a single vehicle for a single official than the amount to be spent on the acquisition of two utility vehicles upon which the resuscitation of service delivery across the entire town depends,” said Goredema.
Brenda Katemanyanga of Gadzema, said Chinhoyi residents wished they could have leaders who really understand and practice of servant leadership.
Katemanyanga said sentiments across the entire section of the town reflected bitterness.
Ignatius Blessed Chari, who is a champion of sustainable community development, described the budget proposal as “extremely disgusting and anti-people”.
“It’s only yesterday that the President, His Excellency Dr Emmerson Mnangagwa, was chiding people occupying high offices to desist from the culture of unbridled greed and rapacious self-aggrandisement at the expense of the citizenry.”
Emmanuel Sigauke, who hails from Mutare, but is now residing in Brundish, said council management was engaging in the corrupt game of rewarding themselves before delivering.
“Imagine, they will do exactly what His Excellency pointed out: acquire an expensive but unproductive monster: expose it to minimum use during his tenure only to acquire it at book value,” he said.
Sigauke said at the end of five years they drive off joyfully.
Sigauke said one tends to wonder why they even bothered to engage in superficial budget consultation process when the final outcome does not in any way capture or reflect the interests of the people.
“We eagerly await to see which of the services cited in the budget are going to be undertaken for the benefit of local residents,” he said.