Low turnout at budget meetings worries Gweru

A LOW turnout at the ward-based consultative meetings for the 2023 Gweru budget has prompted the local authority to conclude that some residents are not interested in governance issues.

Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association executive director Cornelia Selipiwe told Southern Eye that residents continue to shun meetings yet they are important for service delivery.

“We are very worried over how residents are treating the ward budget consultative meetings for 2023. These meetings are there to shape our tomorrow in terms of service delivery,” Selipiwe said.

“We are, therefore, encouraging residents to attend such meetings in their numbers so that they give us their input.”

Council spokesperson Vimbai Chingwaramusee told Southern Eye that the turnout was fair, but very low for specific groups.

Chingwaramusee said persons with disabilities (PWDs) were not attending budget meetings to air their views.

“It is important for specific groups like PWDs to say what they want included in the budget,” Chingwaramusee said.

In an unrelated development, council said it had procured electric motors to be installed at Whitewaters pump station, where a breakdown had resulted in several areas going for more than a month without water.

Chingwaramusee confirmed the development, adding: “WhaWha Prison Complex and other areas which are served by the pump station have been battling a severe water crisis, raising fears of a diarrhoeal disease outbreak.”