Rutendo Chirume

The Masvingo Business Advisory (MBA) board has sounded the alarm over a deepening financial crisis at Masvingo City Council, warning that ballooning debts, delayed grants, and an unsustainable reliance on fines and taxes are crippling service delivery and stalling key projects.

At a tense mid-year budget review meeting on September 8, the MBA revealed that government departments are the city’s single largest debtors, owing 28 percent of outstanding debts.

Overall, debtors owe a staggering 58 percent of the city’s projected annual revenue — money that council urgently needs to keep services running and projects afloat.

The watchdog board accused council of over-relying on punitive revenue sources such as fines and taxes, describing the approach as a short-term fix that risks collapsing basic service delivery.

MBA board member Andrew Chekani issued a stark warning that unless government and other debtors settle their dues, the city will fail to implement major projects and public confidence in council will erode further.

“The reliance on fines and taxes will not sustain service delivery in the city. Broader, reliable revenue sources are urgently required.

“It is shocking that the government itself is the biggest debtor — starving council of funds while residents continue to endure poor services.

“While MBA cannot chase government arrears, we demand that council provide us with a list of commercial debtors so we can intervene and push for immediate payment,” Chekani said.

The MBA also flagged serious delays in the disbursement of devolution funds and ZINARA grants, while liquidity shortages have blocked the city from borrowing for capital projects.

The combination, it warned, has created a perfect storm that is stalling development and undermining Masvingo’s future.

City of Masvingo finance director Danister Jori admitted that engagements with debtors are still ongoing but insisted efforts are underway to boost revenue collection and recover outstanding grants.

For now, however, residents remain caught in the middle, paying ever-higher taxes and fines while government institutions and big debtors starve the city of the cash it needs to deliver.