By Admire Chitsungo
The Mashonaland West Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Marian Chombo has commended Sanyati Rural District Council for maintaining current workers’ salaries while clearing a five-month salary arrears backlog.
Speaking during an interface meeting involving Sanyati Rural District Council and Kadoma City Council in Kadoma on Monday, Chombo said the achievement reflected sound financial management at the local authority.
She also commended Sanyati RDC Chief Executive Officer Achim Shadaya and his management team for maintaining operations under challenging economic conditions.
“I want to commend Sanyati RDC for maintaining current salaries while at the same time clearing arrears which are now at five months. This is no small achievement under the prevailing economic environment where most residents are not forthcoming on paying rates,” said Chombo.
“CEO Achim Shadaya and his team deserve recognition for stewarding the ship with discipline and focus. Other councils can learn from this example.”
Chombo said local authorities play a key role in Government’s Vision 2030 agenda through the provision of essential services and community development.
She said councils are responsible for ensuring access to clean water, sanitation, roads, housing, health services and economic opportunities.
“These engagements remain a vital platform for strengthening collaboration, assessing service delivery, identifying challenges and collectively finding practical solutions that improve the lives of our people,” she said.
The minister urged councils to strengthen revenue collection systems, improve debt recovery mechanisms and ensure prudent use of available resources to sustain service delivery.
“Residents are interested in results. They want to see roads being rehabilitated, water flowing consistently, refuse being collected on time, clinics and schools functioning properly and local economic opportunities being created,” she said.
Chombo also stressed the importance of transparency, accountability and clean audits in local governance, saying corruption undermines development efforts and discourages potential investors.
She further called on councils to implement Statutory Instrument 170 of 2025 on Minimum Service Delivery Standards and focus on measurable outcomes in service delivery.
The minister also urged local authorities to simplify investment procedures and reduce unnecessary bureaucracy to attract investors and stimulate economic growth.
Meanwhile, Sanyati RDC chairperson Councillor Stanford Chaombezvi said the council was pursuing plans to establish a teachers’ college in the district.
“We remain grateful for Government support as we continue working towards transformative projects that uplift our communities and create long-term opportunities for our people,” said Chaombezvi.
