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Innocent Ruwende Municipal Reporter
Harare City Council has unveiled a $447 million budget for 2017, with the bulk of the funds earmarked for service delivery, while a third will be allocated towards salaries. This is a 30 percent increase from 2016 but the city said it will not increase charges for its services. The bulk of the money will be raised from water sales. The budget has been increased by $104 million from this years’ $343 million budget. The city said 29,9 percent of the budget would fund salaries and allowances to the tune of $116,3 million, while the remaining 70,1 percent would go towards service delivery.

Presenting the budget, Acting Finance and Development Committee chairperson Councillor Luckson Mukunguma said payroll costs would be monitored on a monthly basis, with necessary cuts being effected where necessary.

“Elsewhere, I have put a case for the treatment of salaries and allowances to employees in service delivery fields such as health, street cleaning, refuse removal, water production, fire fighting and pipe drainage as part of service delivery costs.

“It cannot be said that City of Harare operations are largely labour intensive and with that understanding, the city’s administration has accordingly made representations to the relevant authorities,” he said.

He said there were no tariff increase proposals for main line services in the 2017 budget due to deflationary pressures, receding disposable income, liquidity constraints, company closures, burgeoning debtors and general mutation of the economic landscape.

Clr Mukunguma said council position was that before tariff increase proposals could be contemplated, the city must first plug revenue leakages manifesting themselves and the appropriate and systematic regularisation of previously illegal settlements.

The bulk of the money is expected to be raised from increased water sales proposed to rake in $133,7 million and property tax for domestic, industrial and commercial at $124,7 million, while refuse collection will chip in with $26,8 million.