Mutare City Council has engaged external consultants to help craft next year’s budget amid revelations the exercise has already fallen behind schedule.
Mayor Brian James said council had received funds to speed up the process.
“Council is generally behind time in presenting its 2012 budget, but we have been through a protracted process of obtaining external consultancy,” he said.
“They will write the budget in close liaison with council, management and the public. This consultancy will also assist us in formulating our mid-term development strategies to dovetail with the budget and our master plan.”
James said external funding was already in place and letters of guarantee were expected from the financiers soon.
He said several areas, which related to weak budgetary processes and implementation, had been identified in the past and were being corrected.
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Some of the areas include procurement and runaway overdrafts on creditors as well as debtors’ lists.
“Council is now looking at the sustainability of a clean city with good service delivery. One of the areas is the budget where we will have steady revenue collection, strict expenditure and try to build public confidence.”