By Flata Kavinga
The Kwekwe City Council has secured approval for its US$50 million 2026 budget, with Mayor Albert Zinhanga confirming that the spending plan was endorsed subject to the finalisation of outstanding school audits.
Zinhanga announced the development in an interview with journalists shortly after a full council meeting, explaining why council had initially remained silent on the matter.
“Some people were saying Kwekwe was quiet. Yes, we were quiet because when the budget is approved, it has to first go through the committees. Once the committee has seen it, they recommend it to the full council,” he said. “We have done the process. I can safely say the Kwekwe City budget was approved. It’s a US$50 million budget.”
He said the approval came with one condition — that council finalises audit reports for its schools.
“As long as we do not have audit reports from schools, our audited financial statements will not be complete. That was the only condition,” Zinhanga said.
According to the mayor, some council schools had already conducted their audits, while others were yet to complete the process.
“We will make sure that they do all the audits,” he said, adding that the audit requirement had also informed council’s recent decision to take over the direct running of its schools.
Zinhanga described the approved budget as “pro-people”.
