THE government has admitted that it has failed to deliver devolution funds and equipment to the Hwange Rural District Council and other local authorities.
Local Government and Public Works deputy minister Benjamin Kabikira told the National Assembly that Hwange only received a fire tender in December last year.
He was responding to Hwange East legislator Joseph Bonda, who had requested an update on the delivery of fire tenders bought in Belarus to Hwange RDC.
“My request to the Minister for Local Government and Public Works is to inform the House when the ministry will deliver to Hwange RDC the fire fighter trucks which were bought in Belarus between 2018 and 2023?” Bonda said.
Kabirika said Hwange RDC had received only a fire fighter truck on December 12, 2024.
Bonda further indicated that the circular that came between 2018 and 2023 from the ministry had indicated that they would receive a fire tender, tipper and front-end loader in place of devolution funds.
“Maybe for expatiation purposes, if he could elaborate on the other two combinations of the same acquisition that were supposed to be delivered,” Bonda said.
However, Kabirika said the government was committed to honouring its commitments.
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“We are unable to do that, although we intend to ensure that we do as we had promised. In the past, you would observe that in 2022, 2023 and even 2024, devolution funds have not been fully disbursed. I wish that once we get the funds, their entirety, we will disburse them,” he said.
Hwange RDC is reportedly facing a shortage of fire tenders and other equipment amid calls on the government to beef up its fleet.
