MUTARE City Council is seriously considering hiking its commercial licence fees as a way of boosting its revenue base, NewsDay has learnt.
BY OBEY MANAYITI STAFF REPORTER
In its proposed service charges document seen by NewsDay yesterday for 2014, Mutare is proposing a marginal hike on shop licences, part of liquor licences, crematorium and cemetery charges as well as on the city health department charges.
In an interview, the city’s mayor Tatenda Nhamarare confirmed the development, saying it was a way of widening the revenue base.
Since the slashing of arrears at the directive of the Local Government last year during the run up to the harmonised elections, several local authorities have been struggling to make ends meet.
“There are only commercial rates where we are proposing to hike fees. We are trying to improve our revenue base,” said Nhamarare.
Last year, during the budget consultations, the city said it would not hike rates.
However, Nhamarare said the city had since reviewed the position on commercial rates only as a way of widening the revenue base.
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Residents’ representatives have slammed the city for the move when it had promised there would be no such increase.
“We feel that the city is increasing the rates nicodemously when, at the same time, they are propagating to the residents that there will not be any increase. They are actually preaching what they are not practising,” said David Mutambirwa of United Mutare Residents and Ratepayers’ Forum.
Desmond Mwedzi from Combined Mutare Residents and Ratepayers Trust said without adequate consultations residents would resist the proposed increment.
“We are the biggest stakeholders and we need to be consulted first on what they are intending to do. Without consultations we will resist it (hikes),” said Mwedzi.
