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Midlands Bureau
Tempers flared during a full council meeting at Kwekwe Town House last week as the city officials failed to agree on whether or not to adopt a proposed $31 million budget for 2019.

The full council meeting lasted nearly six hours, with the councillors disagreeing after proposals to increase some tariffs by 250 percent.

Some councillors led by finance committee chair Cllr Silas Mukaro wanted the full council to adopt the proposed budget, while a section of other councillors argued that no consultations were done with the residents.

Deputy Mayor Cllr Shadreck Tobaiwa, who once served as the Kwekwe Mayor, was leading the group of councillors opposed to the adoption of the new budget.

“We are yet to get all the people’s view, we are yet to meet all stakeholders,” he said. “The consultations were not done properly. At times we met two people, while at other meetings the highest number of people in attendance was 12.

“I propose that we go back to the people with the proposed tariffs before adoption of the budget. We want a people-centred budget that caters for the will of the people.”

The budget, he said, should be reviewed downwards considering the present situation where most residents were failing to service their bills with council citing economic challenges.

Cllr Charles Juta concurred and said there was no need for the full council to endorse the proposed budget.

“This is clearly a rushed budget, we should go back to the people and hear what they have to say about the newly proposed tariffs,” he said.

Cllr Mukaro felt that the budget should sail through since the consultations were conducted.

He said the poor attendance during the budget consultations could not stop the full council from agreeing on a proposal.

“This is a realistic budget which is in line with the current economic situation,” he said. “We should do as we agreed when we met earlier, I do not see the reason why we should waste time debating issues we have debated on before.”

Finance director Mrs Rejoice Maweni concurred and said there was no need for further consultations as it would strain the already cash-strapped local authority.

Kwekwe Mayor Cllr Angeline Kasipo called for the adjournment of proceedings following an impasse.