MARTIN MAWAYA
GWERU—Gweru Mayor Councillor Martin Chivhoko has accused central government of crippling service delivery in the city through persistent delays in disbursing devolution funds, warning that major infrastructure and housing projects are grinding to a halt.
Chivhoko said the failure to release the funds, compounded by inconsistent Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) allocations, has left the local authority struggling to maintain roads, water systems and other critical services.
“Honourable Minister and Members of Parliament, the non-disbursement of devolution funds to council continues to hamper our development programmes,” Chivhoko said, adding that several delayed allocations were earmarked for flagship infrastructure projects critical to the city’s growth.
Last year, government allocated Gweru City Council ZWG56 863 600, equivalent to about US$2 231 397 at the time, but the funds were not disbursed.
The devolution funds were intended to finance key projects, including rehabilitation of White Waters, the purchase of a motorised grader, excavator, tipper truck, ICT equipment and a refuse compactor, as well as the relocation of the Woodlands dumpsite and construction of school blocks.
Solarized public lighting and rehabilitation of the sewer treatment plant were also earmarked under the devolution programme.
Chivhoko said the non-disbursement of the funds had crippled development projects and urged government to honour its commitments to local authorities.
The mayor also took a swipe at the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) for charging council commercial electricity tariffs, saying the practice was bleeding the local authority financially.
“We are a non-profit public institution, yet we are being charged commercial rates. This is unsustainable and directly undermines service delivery,” he said.
Chivhoko further said delays in gazetting Gweru’s master plan were stalling housing delivery, as council could not legally roll out new residential developments without the necessary approval.
The Ward 4 councillor also called on Treasury to urgently settle debts owed by government departments to council, arguing that the funds could be redirected towards local development and improved services.
Gweru City Council is owed more than ZWG860 million by residents, industry and government departments.
The mayor made the remarks during a tour of infrastructure and housing projects in Gweru by Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Owen Ncube.
Despite the challenges, Chivhoko said council remained committed to transforming Gweru into a people centred and competitive smart city by 2030, but warned that progress would remain slow without timely financial support from central government.
