MUTARE- City council today rolled out the first of a series of 2022 budget consultations amid controversy on the composition of a newly set up Budget Committee, which left out business and youth representatives.
Recently, the City of Mutare announced a 13 member Budget Committee that will spearhead the 2022 budget consultations and formulation process, which will also review the 2021 budget performance.
Mutare is borrowing the idea from Kariba where it has proved successful in inclusive formulation of a people-driven budget.
The budget committee members recently had a capacity-building program where they were taking stock of the City’s achievements, anticipated to guide the 2022 budget formulation process.
A newly formed business unit -Commercial Federation of Manicaland (CMFT) says the council is discriminating and violating their rights as an entity representing genuine business interests other than organizations aligned to the system.
CMFT chairperson, Phibeon Ngorima, speaking at the organisation’s launch recently, accused council of acting in bad faith after the organisation was removed from the Budget Committee without notice of intention.
“We are not happy with the way the council is handling its affairs. It has been violating the Urban Councils Act for too long without anyone to challenge the local authority as business representatives have become aligned to council.
“Council withdrew us from the committee without due diligence. We have written seeking explanation from the council because we feel that they are acting in bad faith,” said Ngorima.
CMFT has been at loggerheads with the municipality after it arraigned council to the High Court arguing that the 2021 Supplementary Budget was in violation of the Urban Councils Act as it did not follow due process.
Council spokesperson, Spren Mutiwi, could not respond to questions sent to him at the time of publishing.
The Budget Committee include, Charlton Chimbira- Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC), Edison Dube- United Mutare Resident and Ratepayers Trust (UMRRT), David Mutambirwa, Mutare Residents and Ratepayers Association (MURRA) while Thomas Masese will represent Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI).
Finance director Blessing Chafesuka, headlines the committee as council representative, while of the remaining members only one is a female, while youths are not represented in the committee.
Richard Mugobo, a social justice activist said failure to accommodate the youth element in the Budget Committee set up compromises the council from ensuring universal participation by all stakeholders.
“It’s unfortunate to note that the committee of thirteen only has a single woman and no representative for young people which refers to it as very exclusive rather than inclusive. Currently, young people constitute the largest demographic in the country, and this under-representation of women and young people must not be taken lightly.
“The budget should be a people-centered, gender and youth-friendly budget informed by the needs and priorities of the people. Going forward there is a need to advocate for an all-inclusive budget formulation process so that women, PWDs and the youth are well represented equally and fairly,” said Mugobo.
