Zvimba set to get $6m devolution boost

ZVIMBA Rural District Council is set to receive about $6 million through a fiscal transfer introduced by Government to fund devolution in 2019.

In a full council meeting last Friday, council finance chairperson Councillor Mabel Nyadzayo hailed Government for operationalising devolution, saying it would help promote development in the district.

She said council’s 2019 budget grew by 368 percent, with a significant chunk coming from fiscal transfers and the 2018 budget surplus.

The budget has increased to $19,452 million from $5,292 million in 2018.

“The lion’s share of the budget will go towards capital projects which are set to consume 66,8 percent in line with the 2019 budget theme which is: ‘Amplifying infrastructure development as a panacea to sustained service delivery’,’’ she said.

The Zvimba RDC finance manager Mr Blessing Chafesuka Kapuya said the budget would prioritise infrastructural development.

This, Mr Chafesuka said, was aimed at spreading development to previously marginalised areas in the district.

Schools and clinics are expected to get top priority in the 2019 allocations.

“We look forward to construct 14 schools and five clinics. We look forward to hit the ground running come 2019 and to this we have already started the tender process for these projects so that they start in the first quarter of 2019,’’ he said.

Mr Chafesuka, however, said the local authority was facing challenges of some suppliers who were demanding payment in United States dollars.

As a result, he said, some suppliers were cancelling tenders after council fails to pay in foreign currency, a development set to affect service delivery.

“The prevailing situation is that most suppliers are charging (in) US dollar, which council is not getting. This is negatively impacting on service delivery and as a result most suppliers have started cancelling tenders, and some are requesting a review of prices,’’ said Mr Chafesuka.

“The reality is, the market has changed prices by a range from 100 percent to 400 percent.

“Unfortunately, this issue is a macro-economic issue that is beyond the control of council.’’

Government has said it will release the fiscal transfer funds in 2019 after allocating $310 million for devolution to fund provisional councils, cities, towns, local boards and rural district councils.