The government will stop approving budgets for councils that fail to produce up-to-date financial statements. This move aims to make local authorities drivers of investment and economic development. However, many councils lack the technical capacity to meet audit requirements, risking a freeze on essential services. The core vulnerability is the administrative capacity gap between central mandates and local execution.
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Local Government permanent secretary Tafadzwa Muguti told all 92 local authorities to disconnect water supplies to government departments that fail to pay bills. He issued the directive at a Kadoma workshop attended by town clerks and council executives. The move exposes chronic intergovernmental payment failures and forces councils into direct confrontation with central government.