LACK of funding has stalled the construction of the Insiza Registry Office, forcing villagers to travel to Bulawayo to obtain identity and travel documents.
Home Affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe said Treasury had not disbursed a single dollar towards the construction of the office since January this year.
The construction of the Insiza Registry Office began in 2001.
Since then, the project has been bogged down by lack of funding.
Finance minister Mthuli Ncube allocated ZWL$23 000 000 000, which translates to US$383 000, for the project in his 2024 budget.
“The department had planned to complete construction of Insiza Registry by December 2024,” Kazembe said.
“However, to date, the funds have not yet been released by Treasury and there is no activity on the site.”
Kazembe was responding to questions from Insiza South legislator Spare Sithole in the National Assembly last week.
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In September last year, Registrar-General Henry Tawona Machiri claimed that government had released ZW$100 million towards the project.
Villagers and critics have accused the government of lacking political will and commitment to ensure the project is completed.
A number of projects in Matabeleland North and South provinces are incomplete or have not gotten off the ground with funding challenges cited as the main reason.
Critics argued that the failure by government to fully devolve powers is one of the reasons the region remains underdeveloped and marginalised.
There is no enabling Act to operationalise devolution, which is provided for in the Constitution.
