COUNCILLORS in Bulawayo have called on the local authority to come up with innovative solutions to boost its revenue base amid concerns over poor service delivery due to lack of funds.
Zimbabwe’s second largest city is facing several challenges including financial constraints that have affected residents’ welfare.
Bulawayo, like most urban councils in Zimbabwe, has witnessed deterioration of the quality of services provided while failing to offer services such as water and sewage reticulation.
The city has also faced challenges in maintaining its road network and providing service such as waste management regularly.
In an interview yesterday, ward 28 councillor Ntandoyenkosi Ndlovu said local authorities should explore alternatives revenue streams beyond reliance on rates and donation for the city's sustainability.
“By diversifying the city’s revenue sources, such as investing in business ventures or public-private partnership, the local authority can enhance its ability to provide quality services without overly burdening residents,” he said.
Ndlovu said council's dependency on traditional funding mechanisms often left the city vulnerable to economic shocks amid financial constraints.
“Incremental steps towards this goal will ensure that transformation is sustainable, allowing the city to increase its resilience to external shocks and enhancing service delivery over time,’’ he said.
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Ndlovu said reliance of rates revenue and donations crippled the local authority financially.
“Reliance on rates and donations has led council to facing financial constraints which result in poor service delivery, such as unreliable water supply, waste management and infrastructure decay,” he said.
Ward 15 councillor Ashton Mhlanga said council should revive its income-generating projects which it had abandoned long back to improve revenue.
“Some time back the local authority had some income-generating projects which provided revenue. It had beer gardens under Ingwebu Breweries and a productive farm which complemented the streams of revenue used in the development of the city,” he said.
Mhlanga said there was a need to revive such projects as council was failing to repair some of its equipment due to lack of funds.
“Having other innovative projects will help to provide the required revenue hence improving service delivery and the living standards of residents thus increasing chances of attracting investment to the city,” he said.
The call was made by ward 3 councillor Mxolisi Mahlangu during a council meeting, adding that the local authority has implemented some projects which would improve revenue inflows amid a crisis, which had seen service delivery plummeting.
