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Inclusive budget tracking key for H.C.C debt reduction
Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA)
May 28, 2013

The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) is deeply concerned with the level of borrowing within Harare City Council for the past three months. Harare City Council endorsed a loan of $6.8 million which might be increased to $12 million from Kingdom Bank to pay for salaries for an unspecified period, $144 million from Development Bank of China for sewer reticulation and $204 million for water pipes and pressure release valves, $2 million from Metbank to purchase refuse trucks. CHRA is worried that Harare City Councillors approved the $6.8 million loan for salaries even though they are not aware of the take home salaray for 9 Directors. Furthermore there is lack of public participation in the need and approval of such loans. CHRA strongly believes that the borrowing spree by Harare City Council is as a result of poor performance and implementation of the HCC’s 2013 “Results Based Budget” which has failed to make any significant impact particularly when it comes to improving social service delivery.

The Poor billing system has seriously contributed to low revenue inflows as some of the figures are estimated and furthermore what the council is demanding from residents is not commensurate with the services which council is purporting to have rendered and some of the services were not provided at all. CHRA is aware that between July and September 2012 Harare City Council charged almost every resident $10.00 water disconnection penalty even though no water was disconnected in most areas like Mabvuku, Highfield and Tafara to mention but a few. City of Harare has no moral standing to claim that residents of Harare owe them $70 million considering that some of the services which they are claiming money for were not provided and their billing system is in shambles which the City Treasury Department acknowledged during the 2012 budget consultations in September at Town House. It is a simple principle of law that there can be no payment when there is no exchange of value hence low revenue inflows into the City Treasury. In view of the above CHRA demands the following:

• Transparency and accountability in Council borrowing and spending of the loans
• Quarterly update on budget performance
• Public Access to Information on the Council spending and Budgets which includes salaries of top directors and management in their respective grades.
• Establishment of an Independent Budget Monitoring and Tracking Taskforce for the City of Harare which should include residents associations.
• Regular Audit on Council expenditure (Harare City Council was last audited in 2009)
• Adoption of a service charter between residents and City of Harare
• Immediate cancellation of the debts on all services which were not rendered

CHRA strongly believes that the budget is an essential policy document that if made in an inclusive, transparent and participatory manner, from formulation to implementation, it will alleviate poverty, improve service delivery and lead to realisation of socio economic rights and ensure environmental sustainability.

Visit the CHRA fact sheet

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