By Flata Kavinga
Zibagwe Rural District Council recorded a 58 percent revenue performance in the third quarter of 2026, collecting ZWG16.15 million against a quarterly budget of ZWG27.81 million, chief executive officer Farayi Machaya has reported.
Addressing a full council meeting Machaya said the council’s annual budget performance stood at 43 percent, with collection efficiency at 57.5 percent and billing efficiency at 74 percent.
“The budget execution analysis shows total revenue amounting to ZWG16,153,039.83 collected against a quarterly budget of $27,808,715.5. This equals a budget performance of 58 percent,” Machaya said.
The council recorded its highest income from social services, which generated ZWG12.01 million during the quarter against a budget of ZWG9.05 million, resulting in a positive variance of about ZWG2.96 million.
Natural resources conservation and related programmes, however, recorded a significant shortfall, generating ZWG4.13 million against a budget of ZWG18.34 million, a negative variance of about ZWG14.21 million.
The council also recorded limited revenue from governance administration, water, sanitation and hygiene, while no revenue was recorded under roads during the quarter.
On expenditure, the council spent ZWG15.07 million against a quarterly budget of ZWG27.81 million, representing 54 percent budget performance.
Governance administration accounted for the bulk of expenditure at ZWG11.86 million, while ZWG1.62 million was spent on roads, ZWG901,362 on social services and ZWG264,322 on water, sanitation and hygiene.
Machaya said the council recorded monthly surpluses in July and September, although it posted a deficit in August.
The council recorded a cumulative surplus of ZWG1.09 million by the end of September.
The financial performance comes as the council continues efforts to improve revenue collection and service delivery amid economic pressures.
Machaya said the broader economic outlook for the third quarter remained positive, citing what he described as a steady disinflation trajectory and improved regulatory efficiency in the local authority sector.
He said inflation averaged 3.2 percent annually during the quarter, while monthly inflation remained around 0.5 percent, except for the September fuel adjustment.
The CEO said the interventions contained in the third-quarter report were aligned with the government’s objective of improving service delivery and achieving an empowered and prosperous upper-middle-income society by 2030.
