PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has warned local authorities that government will not approve their budgets if they do not demonstrate achievable service delivery goals.
Speaking during an interactive meeting with officials from various local authorities at a meeting in Harare yesterday, Mnangagwa said the Local Government ministry would also not hesitate to intervene in the running of councils when there are signs of poor service delivery.
“The Ministry of Local Government has been instructed not to approve any annual budget unless it demonstrates achievable and acceptable service delivery levels and is in line with the law,” the President said.
Most local authorities have been registering poor budget performances after coming up with unachievable targets and highly inflated figures.
Mnangagwa said he was aware of delays in the disbursement of devolution funds and failure to disburse actuals.
He urged councils to come up with revenue generation strategies.
Mnangagwa expressed concern over poor service delivery, particularly in Harare and Bulawayo.
“This is compounded by the water woes, uncollected waste, poor land use planning, and haphazard settlements,” he said.
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“We will not stand by and watch our country be returned to medieval times, where solid waste runs along the streets with frequent diseases such as cholera and typhoid. Service delivery must be prioritised and ratepayers have a right to demand that heads roll for those who do not deliver.”
Harare Metropolitan Residents Forum chairperson Marvelous Kumalo said citizen participation in council budget formulation processes was instrumental.
“We also hope that the central government will walk the talk by supporting local authorities by bringing the Devolution Bill to Parliament so that local authorities are given enough powers to deliver on their mandates,” he said.
Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe secretary-general Livison Mutekede said: “We also expect the Ministry of Finance to take seriously the issue of disbursement of devolution funds because some local authorities get them at the end of the year.”
