By Rex Mphisa
BEITBRIDGE Mayor Peter Mafuta Pirato has called for constructive engagement between staff and stakeholders for the improvement of Beitbridge town.
He was speaking in his opening remarks of the Half Year Budget Review Breakfast Meeting underway at the Beitbridge Municipality.
He said the meeting provides residents with an important opportunity to take stock of where the town stands midway through the 2026 financial year.
“More importantly, it allows us to reflect on whether the resources entrusted to us are translating into meaningful services and tangible improvements for the residents of our town.
“A budget is not simply a financial document. It is a statement of our priorities and, ultimately, a commitment to the people we serve. Our responsibility, therefore, is to ensure that the resources available to our Municipality are managed prudently, transparently and in a manner that delivers value to our community,” he said.
“As we consider the half year performance, we will look at our revenue collection, expenditure, capital projects and overall implementation of the approved budget. We must also acknowledge the challenges that have affected performance during the first half of the year, while identifying opportunities to improve where necessary.”
He said the review should not be approached simply as an exercise of accounting for what has already happened but must help make informed decisions about the remainder of the year.
Where council is performing well, that momentum must be maintained, he said, while where gaps exist officials should be honest to ratepayers also finding practical measures to close them.
He said collaboration is key to delivery of municipal services which is a collective responsibility involving Council, management, employees, residents, businesses and other stakeholders.
“Constructive engagement between all these parties is essential if we are to respond effectively to the needs and expectations of our community,” he said.
“As we deliberate today, I encourage us to remain focused on the interests of Beitbridge. Let our discussions be frank, constructive and solution oriented. With our limited resources, we must be deliberate in how we allocate and utilise them, ensuring that our priorities remain aligned with the needs of our residents and the service delivery commitments of our Municipality.”
Town Clerk Loud Ramakgapola asked investors and residents to make use of the Limpopo River as a site for investment and show the difference between Beitbridge and inland towns without rivers.
“We have the Limpopo River which is a unique opportunity for us and we must exploit it,” he said.
He ran through a number of projects lined up as part of the development radar for MoB which included a gated community to have at least 75 stands in the low density suburb east of the border town.
Ramakgapola also said Council was going on an exercise to build clinics and comply with a recommended ration of a clinic to 10 000 people.
He also said material,was in place for the Makhado Primary School under construction in Dulivhadzimu High Density suburb.