Bulawayo, (New Ziana)-There is need for local authorities to develop robust financing models for their programs and projects to avoid overburdening ratepayers, President Mnangagwa said on Thursday.
He said this while officiating the 4th edition of the All Councilors Indaba held at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre in the second largest city.
The Indaba brought together all 2 585 policy makers and their executives, drawn from the 92 Local Authorities. Held under the theme ‘Benchmarking Service Delivery Towards Attainment of Vision 2030,’ the indaba aligns with government commitment to enhance quality service delivery for citizens in both urban and rural areas.
“I implore local authorities to also mobilise funds for various development initiatives, at the local level, to augment disbursements from the Treasury. In this regard, you are challenged to develop more robust financing models for your programs and projects, without overburdening rate-payers. We are all reminded that money does not create ideas, money funds ideas,” he said.
President Mnangagwa said benchmarking was critically important for transformational results, where decision makers make decisions based on facts.
“Sound fiscal management is essential for the economic growth and development of our local authorities. You, as councilors and executives, have a duty to ensure that your budgets are aligned with our national priorities and provide the necessary resources to drive progress and improve the lives of our citizens. The Ministry must equally give timely guidance in this regard,” he said.
He said the 2025 National Budget was designed with economic recovery, social development, and infrastructure investment at the core, and to complement these priority areas, local authorities should come up with income generating projects.
“The Budget allocated resources to key sectors such as water and sanitation, healthcare, education, agriculture, and infrastructure development, with a strong emphasis on job creation and poverty eradication, leaving no one and no place behind. ”
To complement these priority areas, I implore local authorities to also mobilise funds for various development initiatives at local level,” he said. President Mnangagwa emphasized that local authorities should serve as the strong foundation for building the nation and driving growth across all economic sectors.
“By and large, more must be done by you, our local authorities, to fully realise the aspirations envisioned in the Local Authorities’ Service Delivery Blueprint; “Call to Action – No Compromise to Service Delivery,” he said.
He also issued a stern warning to local authorities failing to meet service delivery mandates, threatening to take action to those who continue to neglect their duties.
“Since I launched this program in November 2023, it is disheartening that we still receive reports of the alarming levels of dereliction of duty, acts of omission and commission, by a number of local authorities. This situation is untenable. We owe the people of our great country greater commitment and responsibility as we execute the mandate given to us,” he said.
“The performance assessment tool, Minimum Service Delivery Standards, crafted by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, should stimulate improvement in service delivery and help track progress in the delivery of quality services. The Minister of Local Government will also be tracking local authorities which habitually fail to conduct audits of their financial statements as provided by the law. I am told that some local authorities are behind and I am thinking of ways to deal with them. There are two possibilities, either they pull up their stockings or we axe them,” he warned.
President Mnangagwa urged local authorities to continuously monitor performance and implement timely interventions, warning that allowing systems to collapse due to inaction would be unacceptable.
“These standards span across eight service delivery areas namely Housing and Community Services, water supply; Sanitation Management; Solid Waste Management; Roads and Public Lighting; Corporate Governance; Public Health; as well as Environmental Stewardship. “This evidence-based system will form the basis for performance awards for local authorities, starting from the 2025 fiscal year. In implementing this tool, I challenge you all, the Ministry, councilors, along with your executives, to constantly track performance and make timely interventions,” he said.
New Ziana
