City of Harare Defends New Levies, Vows to Fix Ageing Infrastructure and Emergency Services
By Loyd Matare
Harare City Council has hit back at growing criticism over its introduction of three new levies, insisting the move is necessary to revive the city’s crumbling infrastructure and ailing emergency services.
This comes as residents and civic groups, including the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) and Zimbabwe Taxpayers’ Platform (ZITAP), have strongly condemned the levies, accusing the city of poor financial management and unfairly burdening ratepayers.
The groups argue the council should instead prioritize accountability and efficient use of existing revenues, while demanding that the central government fulfill its constitutional obligation to allocate devolution funds.
In this regard, Harare City Council’s Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Jackson Murimi, defended the introduction of the levies, stressing that they are not designed to exploit residents but to address long-neglected service delivery gaps.
“Our emergency services fleet, particularly ambulances and fire tenders, is severely depleted and operating below optimal levels,” Murimi explained.
“The Emergency Services Levy will allow us to replenish this critical fleet.
“We have committed to ring-fence all funds collected into a special account dedicated solely to purchasing new ambulances and emergency equipment. Our goal is to have an ambulance stationed at every polyclinic across the city.”
Murimi also painted a grim picture of Harare’s water distribution network, attributing frequent pipe bursts, water losses, and supply disruptions to ageing infrastructure, some of which dates back to the 1960s.
“We are losing significant volumes of treated water every day,” he said.
“The Water Infrastructure Levy is not arbitrary.
“It is a targeted measure to finance the urgent refurbishment and modernization of our water and wastewater systems, which will directly benefit residents.”
In his concluding remarks, addressing fears of potential misuse of funds especially in light of past revelations of ballooning executive salaries and opaque financial practices, Murimi assured residents that transparency mechanisms will be put in place.
“We understand residents’ concerns about how funds are used.
“That is why we are committed to strict monitoring and evaluation systems.
“Every dollar collected under these levies will be accounted for, with periodic public updates to ensure accountability,” he said.
He further noted that Harare’s financial woes have been exacerbated by the central government’s failure to disburse adequate devolution funds, as required by Section 301(3) of the Constitution.
By November 2024, the city had received only 1.91% of its allocation, forcing it to find alternative means to bridge funding gaps.
