The City of Harare is facing a significant shortage of functional ambulances, with only four operational out of the required 32, as revealed by finance and development committee chair, Councillor Costa Mande.
Mande made the disclosure on Tuesday while presenting the city’s 2025 budget proposal, which totals US$548.2 million. In light of the shortage in emergency services, he proposed the introduction of an emergency services levy and a street lighting levy to help fund the necessary improvements.
“Our emergency services are in dire need of resources,” Mande said. “Of the 32 ambulances needed, only four are functional. To address this, we propose a levy of US$1 per household for emergency services and another US$1 for street lighting, which will provide dedicated funding for these critical areas.”
The proposed levies are part of the city’s broader strategy to raise funds for both emergency services and street lighting infrastructure. The 2025 budget allocates US$137.3 million for capital expenditure and US$410.8 million for recurrent spending. The city’s revenue for the first nine months of 2024 was ZWL 2 billion, falling short of the ZWL 5 billion target.
The majority of the capital expenditure is set aside for water, sanitation, hygiene, and infrastructure development for small and medium enterprises.
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