2)—Solwezi fails to meet budget target

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Solwezi Municipal Council has reduced its budget estimates for 2015 due to failure to collect revenue in 2014 resulting in a shortfall of K77.013 million.

The Council had approved a budget of K114.3 million in 2014 but by August this year it had only raised K37,287 million.

The Council has meanwhile proposed to spend K84.1 million in its 2015 operational budget.

ZANIS reports that the 2015 budget has been reduced by K30.2 million from K114 .3 million in 2014.

Acting chief accountant Frank Taima explained yesterday when he presented the budget estimates proposal to the stakeholders in the Council Chamber that the reduction had been necessitated by the failure to meet the 2014 revenue expectations.

Mr Taima said by August this year the council had only managed to raise K37, 287 million out of the K114.3million budget of which about K20 million was collected from the mines as land rates.

And Solwezi Council director of planning Naomi Simwanza said the 2014 budget was also not corresponding with what was on the ground in terms of revenue collection.

Ms Simwanza added that the Council has not been able to collect rates from most residential properties in Solwezi because they are not captured on the valuation roll while government buildings have not been paying rates for some time.

But stakeholders present at the meeting proposed that the Council should adjust various charges such as burial permits and introduce parking fees as a way of broadening its revenue base.

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