City of Mutare Acting Town Clerk has emphasized the importance of revenue collection for the continued provision of council services.As the eastern border city grapples with the challenges of urbanization and development, Acting Town Clerk Blessing Chafesuka stressed that the local authority’s services come at a cost, and it was essential for residents and stakeholders to understand the financial implications of service delivery.
“For us to be able to provide services, there is a cost that is attached to that process. The major cost drivers of water provision are water chemicals, raw water and ZETDC bill. Raw water bill was increased by 220 percent by Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA). Mind you they do not consult anyone as well as ZETDC, besides the two being government entities they do not consult us. We just absorb their costs.“This then builds to a cost and we can only recover that cost from the residents. When this cost is pushed to council, there is no way we can recover that cost unless we get a subsidy from government, which is not there at the moment. What we are only doing is calculating the cost and giving it to te residents.
“However, there are two ways to solve the impasse on our proposed budget. Either we say tariffs will not be increased but at the same time we will resort to rationing water probably two or three days per week depending on the capacity of the tariff. So it for residents to decide, explained Chafesuka in an interview with this publication.He mentioned that although the local authority was collecting an average of between 60 and 65 percent of what they were billing, hence council was struggling to provide optimum services.Chafesuka highlighted that council’s efforts to maintain infrastructure, provide water and sanitation, as well as delivering on other essential services require a significant financial resources. He noted that while the local authority strives to be efficient and effective in its operations, the reality was that service delivery come at a cost.Therefore, it was crucial for residents, businesses and other stakeholders to recognize the value of the services provided and contribute through rates and other revenue streams.
Manica Youth Assembly (MAYA) director Jussa Kudherezera shot down at Chafesuka’s sentiments adding that the local authority boss assertions were no longer a proposal but a demand.“If it is a proposal, then we expect the city fathers to take the proposal to the people and decide on it depending on the available information. If council feel that there is no going back on tariff increase then we assume they should go ahead and implement as they wish. There is no need to conduct budget meetings as this will serve no purpose,” Kudherezera shot back.He acknowledged that while City of Mutare may hold valid reasons for the budget proposal on odious tariffs, the issue remain on access and provision of information to residents.“As things stand now there is no convergence between council’s position and residents who are only aware of the proposed back breaking tariffs from the grapevine but then there is no justification on how council settled on these figures. What is the budget for water chemicals per year? How much is council realizing from the current tariff and the difference,” asked Kudherezera?
Turning on to the issue of roads, Chafesuka admitted that this was a major problem in the proposal. He noted that the increases were far much higher and thus council had no option other than exposing the costs to the residents.“This is for residents to decide. If they want us to maintain a 1km road network per year whilst destroying 25 km per year, it is up to them. We will maintain the current tariff but if they want 5km per year what it means is the tariff should increase to almost $5. These are just high increases but this is what our roads are demanding. So we will not impose anything but rather it is for residents to decide what they want,” added the local authority boss.On the issue of roads, Kudherezera warned that the local authority should not overburden the already burdened residents but rather should make use of their multiple sources/votes that go towards supporting the road fund.
“There is no need to overburden our residents. Already council has multiple sources/votes that go towards supporting the road fund such as Zinara, rates and parking fees. As advocacy groups we can also help council with a concerned voice for better disbursements based on the volume of traffic we have that is paying to Zinara,” he said.Mutare Informal Traders Association (MITA) president Itai Kariparire weighed in saying while it was prudent for them to stand with residents but there was a time when reality should dawn on everyone in the city who uses council services.
“The way residents are paying rates is in dribs and drabs. Council is unable to source United States dollars from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe yet fuel for council vehicles to deliver on services is bought in foreign currency. So if we say we should not have a tariff increase of 5 percent we are heading nowhere.“On the issue of roads if we are to rehabilitate 50km of road network per year we need about ten years for the city to be tarred. The roads levy that residents pay monthly is too meagre to even complete a 1km tarred road. The major problem we have is our residents like to use services that they are not prepared to pay for. There should be a common ground between council and residents on the issue of tariff increase. Our people simply do not want information but want to make accusations and counter accusations,” Kariparire noted.
Mutare Residents and Ratepayers Association (MURRA) Chairperson David Mutambirwa upon quizzed on the issue of roads in relation to tariff increase, downplayed the question although he noted that council was getting a disbursement from Zinara in local currency which is eroded by inflation.“The suppliers of consumables do not accept local currency. Above all the amount is far from enough to cover the required work hence council is taking an initiative to address the challenges. What the residents want are navigable roads. They do not know about all the details of who does what, all they want are good roads,” he said.
The Acting Town Clerk’s message serves as a reminder that the provision of council services is shared responsibility, requiring the collective effort and support of all stakeholders.
