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GRRA urges residents to attend budget consultations

GRRA urges residents to attend budget consultations

Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association (GRRA) in partnership with Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET) held a pre-budget sensitization meeting at Mkoba YWCA Hall yesterday, 26 October 2024. They informed the Gweru community about the 2025 public budget consultation meeting scheduled for 26-27 October 2024 in 18 wards of the city of Gweru.

Presenting the annual business plan and 2025 proposed budget and tariffs, GRRA Finance and Administration Officer, Taurai Demo highlighted that, the budget has increased due to the new valuation roll that was last conducted in 2002 resulting an increase in rates revenue from 7.4 million to 18.9 million USD.

“We have an 154 percent increase due to the updated property market values as well as unrecorded properties. Which means the tariff has increased evidenced by burial fees and supplementary charges in other areas in the city.”

“The functions of the (valuation) office include the valuation of all properties for rating purposes, council properties for insurance, letting purposes, properties for sale including stands, estimation of building costs and conducting auctions on behalf of council, conducting site inspections for compliance with respect to conditions and terms of sale of council stands and private properties for acquisition among other functions,” he said.

“Its vital that residents attend budget meetings to refute huge burial fees, hike in PVO registration and demand which projects or items are budgeted under the capital budget at 11 percent. Furthermore residents should demand the inclusion of health and education programmes for children and youth in our community,” he emphasized.

GRRA Executive Director Cornilia Selipiwe stressed that, attending budget consultations is crucial opportunity for residents to share their insights, expectations, and key focus areas that they believe should be prioritized in annual business plan and 2025 budget.

“I urge you all to attend the budget consultation meetings so that, you can make contributions particularly on issues concerning increase in burial prices, registration of private voluntary organizations (PVO)s as well as health and education issues,” Selipiwe said.

VISET Executive Director Samuel Wadzai noted that, community contributions are critical step towards realizing Zimbabwe’s vision 2030 which aims to transform the country into an upper middle income economy. He also mentioned that the community should also consider how issues affecting women, youth, and persons with disabilities can be addressed.

“Its very important that all residents particularly women, youth and PWDs should attend these meetings to raise their concerns to councillors of their community. Councillors and management cannot understand your concern if you do not attend and raise your concerns.

“We cannot transform our country into an upper middle income economy, if we do not attend budget consultations,” he said.

By actively contributing to the budget consultation process, citizens can ensure that their voices are heard, and their needs are addressed in the formulation of policies that impact their lives. The collaboration between community-based organizations (CBO)s and the community is vital for fostering transparency and accountability in governance, ultimately leading to improved outcomes for all Gweru residents.

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