The Gweru City Council plans to increase its budget to $32 million next year by reducing its expenditure on salaries and allowances for employees, an official said yesterday.
Report by Stephen Chadenga Own Correspondent
Council this year had set aside $9,6 million for salaries in its $20 million budget, but the figure has been reduced to $9,5 million for next year.
“We are making an effort to move down from 34% to 30% from last year’s manpower costs to next’s year’s,” council’s finance director Edgar Mwedzi said at the budget stakeholders’ consultative meeting held in the city.
The proposal was accepted by stakeholders who encouraged the local authority to implement its plans.
Meanwhile, council says it was owed $16 million by residents and businesses in unpaid rates as of September 30.
Council said the closure and downsizing of most companies in the city had seen more businesses failing to pay their bills.
“We have companies that closed last year and have remained closed,” Mwedzi said.
