Kwekwe residents petition Minister over budget

Kwekwe (The Times-New Ziana)-The Kwekwe Residents and Ratepayers Development Association (KRRDA)has petitioned Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo over the city’s 2020 budget which is proposing a 1 644 percent increase in rates and tariffs across the board.

The association wants Moyo to stop the city council from implementing the budget, arguing it does not have the input of residents and other stakeholders.

“The local authority adopted the 2020 budget without following an inclusive and consultative process of the people who elected the councilors in the wards which is not fair,” it said.

“Again the few people who attended the budget consultative meetings were selected on partisan grounds which left out other key stakeholders. To this end, our future cannot be determined by a few people out of thousands of residents and ratepayers. We have information that even some councilors objected the budget,” the association said.

The KRRDA said approving the budget would result in a number of challenges including failure by parents to send children to school, failure to afford basic commodities, encouraging prostitution, company closures and criminal activities among others.

According to the KRRDA, the increases would see hoteliers paying licences of $72 000 per annum, up from $550.

In its initial letter to Kwekwe Town Clerk, Dr Lucia Mkandla signed by secretary general Alex Homela and chairperson Robson Kadenhe, KRRDA said the consultative meetings were done hurriedly resulting in some places recording low turnout.

The association said the proposed budget would result in the suffering of residents considering the cost of living in view of the socio-economic challenges facing the country.

The association also queried the absence of income generating projects in the budget.
The Times-New Ziana