The ManicaPost
Liberty Dube Post Correspondent
MUTASA Rural District Council is targeting artisanal miners in the district to remit taxes to the municipality in their proposed 2017 budget as they aim to widen revenue collection base.
The council’s chief executive officer, Mr George Bandure, said they were also stepping up efforts to improve service delivery and the recent acquisition of vehicles and motorbikes was meant to enable councillors to reach out to communities.
Speaking on the sidelines of a handing over ceremony of 27 motorbikes and three vehicles to the councillors and council management on Tuesday, Mr Bandure said they intended to raise more revenue through land taxes which is the district’s greatest asset.
“We are in a process of budgeting for 2017 and we are glad to announce that the councillors adopted the budget. We will hold a final finance meeting after we finish consulting with relevant stakeholders such as schools, shop owners among others for their input and objections. If the community feels our figures are high, in terms of rates, they should feel free to engage us and come up with a counter proposal.
“To improve our current performance of 58 percent, we would also engage artisanal miners to remit taxes to council,” said Mr Bandure.
A total of 27 councillors who received the motorbikes will pay an amount of $81 per month to the MRDC up to December 2017. The motorbikes were registered in the name of the councillors.
“Out of the 31 councillors, 27 of them received the bicycles. Those who did not get them initially thought it was a political gimmick but as you can see, the bicycles are here and it is not a gimmick,” he added.
In a separate interview, the council chairman, Mr Tendayi Samanga said the acquiring of the motorbikes would play a critical role in improving service delivery.
