The Redcliff Town Council has signaled financial distress, as revenue inflows have significantly dipped, leaving the municipality with little to spend on capital projects.
The local authority`s financial woes were mostly due to the closure of Redcliff-based giant ZISCO Steel company, which paid most of the property tax and whose former employees own most of the town`s residential properties, a council official has said.
“As a local authority we are very distressed and I am sure as you are aware that most of our property tax comes from ZISCO which is currently not operating. This has incapacitated most of our residents who are former ZISCO employees, so our cash inflows are very low,” said Nyararai Gomba, Redcliff Acting Town Clerk.
He said because of the depressed revenue the council was failing to carry out projects budgeted under its capital expenditure and had pinned hopes on intergovernmental fiscal transfers.
“We are failing to implement several projects because we are cash-strapped at the moment. So, from the government, we are expecting that they will increase our allocation of devolution funds so that we can commence and complete some of our projects.”
Gomba said of the planned projects for 2022, the town council wanted to start establishing Redcliff`s own water treatment station.
Redcliff currently gets its water from Kwekwe city.
He said,” The main projects that we would like to start during the year are that we want to set up a water treatment plant Currently, we are relying on Kwekwe city for our water and supply is not in our control.”
Earlier this year Redcliff Mayor Clayton Masiyatsva revealed that the council had engaged consultant Paul Kruger to carry out a feasibility study on setting up the water treatment plant.