By Patience Gondo
BEITBRIDGE Rural District Council has gone for a third consecutive year without receiving devolution funds, raising concern over stalled development projects in the district.
A communication to District Development Coordinators in Matabeleland South shows that seven out of ten local authorities in the province have already received their 2026 devolution allocations.
However, Beitbridge Rural District Council was not allocated any funds.
The council last received the funds in 2023.
Beitbridge RDC chairperson Oscar Chiromo confirmed the situation, saying the council has already raised the matter with authorities in Harare.
“The matter has been communicated upwards. They are looking at it in Harare. We will let you know as soon as we get any information,” said Chiromo.
He said the council is still waiting for a response on why the district was not allocated the funds.
Devolution funds are mandatory fiscal transfers from central government meant to empower local authorities to lead development in their communities.
The funds are mainly used for capital projects such as roads, clinics, water systems and schools. They cannot be used for recurrent expenses like salaries.
The absence of the funds has raised concern about the pace of development in Beitbridge’s rural areas, where many communities depend on council led infrastructure projects.
In 2024, Beitbridge RDC was allocated ZiG 33.5 million.
However, most of the money was not released after government diverted part of the devolution budget to respond to the severe El Nino – induced drought.
Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe previously indicated that some funds meant for devolution projects had been redirected to address the national drought crisis.
For 2025, Beitbridge RDC was allocated ZiG 124,817,900 on paper, a much larger amount than the previous year. Despite the increase, concerns remain that the council again did not receive the funds.
For 2026, the council says it is still waiting for a response from central government.
Without the funds, key development projects in the district risk being delayed or failing to start.
For many rural communities in Beitbridge, the delay means continued challenges in accessing basic services such as roads, water and other infrastructure meant to improve daily life.