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Harare residents dismiss 2009 city budget
Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA)
March 09, 2009

Residents across the city of Harare have out rightly rejected the recently announced City of Harare 2009 budget. The budget is expected to raise US$185 million of which 55% of the total budget is expected to be derived from rates paid by the ordinary residents. The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) has conducted an analysis of the budget and conducted several public meetings meant to raise awareness amongst the residents and its members in terms of what this budget demands from them as well as its general implications. After this exercise, CHRA held its General Council meeting last Saturday the 7th of March 2009 where all the 46 ward leaders in attendance resolved that they will reject the budget and urged their councilors to revise it accordingly. CHRA ward leaders have also warned that if the budget is approved, residents will embark on a vigorous rates boycott similar to the one conducted as a response to the appointment of the illegal Makwavarara and the successive commissions.

After a thorough analysis of the budget, the Combined Harare Residents Association concluded that the budget has charged levies and tariffs which many residents cannot afford. For instance, the following reflects a monthly budget for an ordinary High density suburb resident;

Given that more than 69% of the total population of Harare residents is unemployed and that of those who are employed; many are civil servants who earn not more than US$100 (ZAR1000), this monthly bill for city of Harare only is just but too high. Apart from that, the absence of water supply and sewer reticulation as sources of revenue for the budget is suspicious. Given the latest developments that the city council has taken back water supply and sewer reticulation management, residents expect that the council would have identified and listed water supply and sewer reticulation as one of the key sources of revenue. Prior to the ZINWA takeover decision, water supply and sewer reticulation contributed 40% revenue to the total budget. Residents suspect that the council technocrats have deliberately left water supply and sewer reticulation as part of the scheme to ensure that all revenue generated from that source is channeled towards packages for the technocrats.

Residents also dismissed the budget on the basis that the council technocrats have not been innovative enough to think of and identify other alternative sources of revenue other than the residents themselves. 55% of the total US$185 million will be generated from the rates paid by residents!! Residents are of the view that the council has numerous business opportunities at its disposal which it can make use of to generate revenue instead of relying on an already overburdened resident.

An analysis of the budget also reflects that the technocrats who crafted it are ill focused in terms of the priority areas. 60% of the total income raised is expected to finance salaries, allowances and administration, while a paltry 10% will be spent on infrastructure and a meager 6% will be spent on Investments. The budget will see the least paid town house employee earning US$290 (ZAR2900) per month! Residents would have thought that the bigger chunk of the revenue should be spent on resuscitating infrastructure and improve service delivery in terms of water provision, health, refuse collection and road maintenance. Residents are also of the view that the budget should also have prioritized developmental projects that aim at addressing urban poverty. CHRA was also perturbed by a huge allocation and projected deficit of US$1, 4 million on what is called the Town clerk central office. This is money to cater for the Town clerk's allowances and other private goodies apart from his salary!! Thus residents are of the view that the budget should have prioritized health, water supply, refuse collection, road maintenance, public lighting, grass cutting etc instead of salaries and allowances.

Furthermore, the budget has been rejected on the basis that it has been done in a manner that residents and other stakeholders including the business and donor community have not been consulted. CHRA would have expected the councilors to consult residents from their respective wards in terms of identifying the priority areas as well as tariff proposals. Residents have scoffed at the Council resolution to seek the residents' opinion at the last minute before the budget is forwarded to the Ministry of Local Government. As such residents have refused to rubberstamp the budget but rather urged the councilors to revise it.

The Combined Harare Residents Association is firmly convinced that the technocrats at the town house are taking advantage of the inexperienced nature of the councilors to smuggle in a budget that focuses on their own personal aggrandizement rather than city welfare. As such CHRA urges the Councilors to realize that and stand by the residents to whom they owe their allegiance. CHRA believes that this budget is part of a bigger political plot targeted at making the Councilors unpopular with the residents while at the same time the technocrats accruing huge personal material benefits out of that plot. Please note that the technocrats are responsible for crafting the budget and are employees appointed by the previous Government whom the councilors have limited control over. However the residents expect and urge the councilors to stand up and use the only muscle they have which is to reject this budget.

CHRA therefore urges the councilors not to approve the budget until the following issues have been addressed;

• Budget must prioritize municipal service delivery issues more than salaries, allowances and personal goodies for technocrats at town house.
• Budget must identify more other sources of revenue. Residents cannot be a key and only substantial source of revenue given the current socio-economic realities obtaining in the city and the country!!
• All tariffs and levies must be reduced to affordable levels
• The Budget must include water supply and sewer reticulation as a source of revenue.

Meanwhile CHRA urges Councilors to immediately conduct parallel and meaningful budget formulation consultative meetings that include residents, the business and donor community. CHRA will vigorously continue to educate the residents and its wide membership on matters to do with this budget. This is part of our quest for a democratic local government system and struggle for the provision of quality and affordable municipal services on a non partisan basis.

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