Binga Rural District Council unveils its mid-term budget review

Ibin Munsaka

Binga rural district council recently presented its mid-term budget review which outlines the income and expenditures for the first two quarters of the year.

Speaking during the budget review meeting, Engineer Mr. Sithole highlighted the various cash flows incurred during the period between January and June 2024.

Engineer Sithole revealed various streams of income that council have and added that during the months of March, May and June the council experienced a rise in inflows, a trend which has been attributed to the revenue improvement initiatives implemented by the council management and the enforcement of household development levies in rural areas.

However, Mr. Sithole explained that it was not only roses in the implementation channel. There also existed some challenges along the way which mutilated achievement of certain developments. To start with, he grieved the poor performance of the local currency, the resistance to pay rates by business operators across the district, among others. The organization also struggled financially due to low disbursements of devolution and ZINARA funds.

It was noted that there has also been a deterioration in the uptake of big game trophy hunting which was caused by small breeds of elephants that the district has. The game trophy hunting trends diminished as compared to yester-years when it used to be the backbone of the district’s economy, due to hunters now preferring big trophies from other districts.

Notwithstanding that there are mining companies in the district, council is failing to accrue any revenue from the mining activities taking place as they are not complying as required by the law.

“Each time the revenue collectors visit these mines, they are told that they have not produced anything. This is not feasible because these mines are not administered by us and their rate payments to us are dependent on their production, so they do not pay any rate before they obtain the mineral,” explained councilor Markson Mudimba.

Sithole clarified that the budget presentation was done in local currency according to the government’s fiscal policy, despite revenue being collected in foreign currency. Meanwhile, the local board administrator, Mr. Never Mwinde lamented the resistance of compliance by rate payers adding that, residents alluded the resistance of paying rates to dissatisfaction towards service delivery such as selling subserviced stands, poor or no road connectivity to certain areas like fishing camps, high rates among others.

In an interview with local vendors, they bemoaned the high rates they have to pay for their vending stalls. Mai Adams, a vegetable vendor who rents a vegetable vending stall opposite the main bus terminus in Kaani ward expressed that,

 “We are living in our laborious periods; we get orders from Bulawayo where we are made to pay charges for luggage. After business hours, we leave our stuff in the hands of a sentry whom we pay monthly, as vendors since our stalls are not lockable. Again, council is charging us twelve united states dollars per month for selling vegetables, while our fellow vendors from the Zambian side are only paying five United States dollars. We are not making any sales since customers have opted the cheap Zambian products thus forcing the locals to close their stalls.”

The local vendors are demanding what they call equal treatment. Their suggestion is to be charged five united state dollars per month as well. They also implored the council to modify their vending stalls to allow them to operate during bad weather and ensure they become lockable so as to zero down on some costs they are incurring.

The tension between Zimbabwean and Zambian vegetable vendors has flared up since April after the latter started selling similar products at low prices, subverting consumers from the local vendors. The local vendors are also accusing the town fathers of failing them in terms of providing them a suitable trading atmosphere.