By Kudakwashe Kutinyo
The 2026 Victoria Falls City Council budget consultation meetings drew mixed reactions from residents and stakeholders during gatherings across the resort city. Budget consultations are meant to provide a platform for stakeholder participation in resource allocation, promote transparency, and strengthen relations between residents and their local authority.
This year, the council mobilised residents through social media and ward announcements, deploying two outreach teams to venues including Mosi-oa-Tunya High School, Chambondo Primary, and the Celebration Community Centre. While some participants welcomed the consultations, tensions surfaced.
Khumbulani Mpofu, a member of the Progressive Victoria Falls Combined Residents Association (PVFCRA), said proceedings were disrupted as some attendees, carrying grievances from last year’s process, became hostile.
“The meeting started well, but some residents who were dissatisfied with last year’s budget consultations expressed their frustrations in a very confrontational manner. It was not amicable; the language was filled with hostility,” said Mpofu.
One resident questioned who had authorised both the previous and current budgets, while another criticised the documents provided, saying they lacked sufficient detail for meaningful discussion.
Mpofu stressed the need for greater public education on how consultations are conducted. “Budget meetings are platforms to discuss allocations, not necessarily to settle old disputes. However, misunderstandings on this caused commotion.
I tried to explain that even if there is no amicable agreement, council can still seek formal approval through the Ministry,” he added. Despite the discord, some groups praised the council’s efforts.
People with disabilities applauded the city for providing accessible consultation spaces and pushed for enforcement of access ramps in public buildings, construction of walkways, and stronger inclusivity measures.
Informal business operators also engaged actively in the discussions. Residents put forward various proposals, including widening the road between the Post Office and Elephant Walk to ease congestion, upgrading sewer and water infrastructure, improving refuse collection, addressing stray dog problems, and completing long-delayed projects such as the Mosi-oa- Tunya 2 High School and a hall at Mosi-oa-Tunya High.
The week-long meetings revealed both the growing appetite for citizen engagement in civic planning and the lingering mistrust between residents and the city authorities over the use of ratepayers’ funds.
New Ziana
