By Staff Reporter
Member of Parliament for Mbizo Constituency Corban Madzivanyika has called on the City of Kwekwe to make the proposed 2026 budget available to all residents in soft copy format to promote transparency and informed participation during the consultative process.
Speaking in an interview, Madzivanyika said every resident must have access to the proposed budget document before attending consultation meetings, arguing that this would allow people to study and debate its contents meaningfully.
“I wish to make it very clear to the City Council that they must provide a soft copy of the proposed 2026 budget so that every resident can receive it,” he said. “People should not just go to consultation meetings and be told about the proposed budget. Everyone has the right to know what is in it.”
The legislator said sharing the document electronically would help residents form informed opinions and make constructive submissions during the budgeting process.
“Give people time to look at that soft copy, to read through the lines, to see what is happening,” he said. “We can’t all get those big hard copies which are expensive for council to produce. Everyone must get that copy in soft format so that they can have time to interrogate it and make informed submissions.”
Madzivanyika added that residents should discuss the proposed budget in community and online platforms such as WhatsApp groups to ensure inclusive participation.
He also urged the local authority to consider reviewing its capital expenditure patterns to ease the financial burden on residents.
“We have seen huge amounts of capital expenditure layouts in previous budgets, which can be reduced under the second phase to lessen the burden on the people,” Madzivanyika said.
The City of Kwekwe is currently conducting public consultations on the proposed 2026 budget, which outlines the municipality’s planned rates, fees, and service charges for the coming year.
