In a development set to enable ease of doing business, the City of Masvingo has unveiled a USSD bill enquiry and payment function on its website. A centralised system that digitalises all accounts information for ratepayers.

Ratepayers can dial *828*8*5# and proceed to enter account number and contact to be able to enquire and pay bills. The system automatically updates accounts information.

The introduction of USSD bill enquiry and payment platform has been received well by hordes of residents as it ensures that residents access their accounts to enquire balances and process payments conveniently.

Given the ever-present payment alternatives like mobile money services such a feature is going to be very effective and conducive for residents. Currently, Council has been making use of mobile money services such as Ecocash, OneMoney as well as bank transfers.

Key among the advantages of online payments is the creation of a cashless society, eliminating the issues of queueing in Revenue Halls, bringing major convenience to ratepayers.

The Council’s initiative works with the full support of a locally designed server that computes the data quickly and updates the whole system.

The system is independent of wholesome operations, allowing independent activities to transact then compile data in the background, instead of pulling the whole database to offer a service, adding so much speed on the serving terminal. Plans are underway to introduce a mobile application to cater for the service as well.

City of Masvingo in conjunction with Great Zimbabwe University, Dialogue on Shelter for the Homeless People in Zimbabwe Trust and the Zimbabwe Homeless People’s Federation has held a seminar on enhancing livelihoods in urban areas through provision of markets, with the aim of strategizing on how to establish legal markets and regulate black markets so as to improve the standards of lives.

One of the most important strategies for improving livelihoods for traders is to develop an effective and practical linkage channel that connects the traders to buyers of their merchandise. This link is essential as it provides these traders with a source of income but this can only be possible through engagements of the interested parties which are town planners, social service providers, traders, civil society organisations and government ministries.

The seminar highlighted on the need to establish linkages and increase engagements so as to come up with sustainable solutions which contribute to the development of the city and improvement on livelihoods.

The objective therefore is to have some form or degree of certainty of the consumer or buyers’ market hence the importance of the linkage. In most urban areas the general trend for traders is through the municipal market infrastructure. This medium is seen as the most effective selling stream due to the affordable rent rates charged for market stalls and the high pedestrian traffic movement flowing through the market.

The seminar identified how municipal markets operate from application to allocation, policies, and regulations & rules that impact all stakeholders.

With the aim to increase Council and vendor engagement and encourage youth participation, this seminar’s participants included Great Zimbabwe University Rural and Urban Planning students, representatives of vendors, academia, private actors, national, provincial and local government officials.

City of Masvingo’s recently elected councillors have embarked on an official tour of Council facilities and projects as part of a series of face-to-face dialogue with Council management and employees.

The Councillors who were accompanied by the City’s directors have used the familiarization tour as an opportunity to outline their vision for the next five years in office as well as appreciate progress and efforts by the local authority. 

The priority projects include Rujeko secondary school, new sanitary landfill – Cambria farm, Northwest Medical Clinic, Chesvingo Safe Market and Tanaiwa hostels.

The City of Masvingo is constructing a maternity facility at North West Medical Clinic as part of efforts to improve health care services.  

The facility which cost ZWL $64 845 080 000.00 will facilitate pre and post-natal health care.

Building work on the site commenced in June 2023 and expected date of completion is December 2023. The project is already at 65% physical completion, with the superstructure and roofing complete.

The maternity ward will lessen the distance travelled by pregnant women to seek maternal services. Currently, Mazorodze maternity clinic is serving the Mucheke and Victoria Ranch community.

 Today the 6^th of October 2023, City of Masvingo hosted the Provincial Junior Parliamentarians and Junior Councillors debate session at Masvingo Civic Centre, Town Hall.

The event was running under the theme, ‘The rights of the child in the digital environment’. A number of topics like intergenerational solidarity, child marriages, child rights, impacts of digitalisation, drug abuse and mental health were debated using the British Parliamentarian style in a quest for young leaders to articulate problems that are faced by youths in their different wards and constituencies whilst members from line ministries responded to them through live debate. 

Present were the Guest of Honour, Honorable Minister of Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Cde E R Chadzamira, Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment and Vocational Training Centre, Honorable Kudakwashe Mupamhanga, the acting Secretary for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Mr Chingwara, Director from the Ministry of Youth Empowerment and Vocational Training Mrs Mupanduki, Her Worship the Mayor Cllr. Shantiel Chiwara, Senior Councillors and Council management.

The City of Masvingo joined the rest of the nation in creating clean and healthy spaces on Friday the 6th of October 2023 at Chesvingo Business Centre by cleaning storm drains, sweeping and picking up stray bits of litter.

The cleaning efforts are part of the national clean-up campaign, which has seen the nation declaring zero tolerance to litter and setting aside the first Friday of every month as a national clean-up day.

The exercise brought together various stakeholders and was graced by the Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Honourable Ezra Chadzamira, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Honourable T. Moyo, Her Worship the Mayor of the City of Masvingo Cllr Shantiel Yeukai Chiwara, City of Masvingo Town Clerk, Eng. Edward Mukaratirwa, among others.

National Clean-Up Day is held monthly and promotes country-scale organized and individual clean-up events and volunteering to keep the outdoors clean and prevent the spread of diseases.

Clean up campaigns raise awareness about the scale of the litter problem and get the community thinking about changing their behaviour. Clean up actions are also an effective way to bring communities together and by enhancing social bonds, make people more appreciative of their common environment.

The exercise attracted more than 200 volunteers from the uniformed forces, business community, government departments, the community and churches.

The event was coordinated by the Department of Health Services in collaboration with Environmental Management Agency.

The National Clean Up Day introduced the Tailored CleanUp program for businesses, institutions and cities. The program is available to any participating business, educational institution, and government entity or non-profit. Companies like Byword Motors and Jadecon Construction also joined the City Council in the clean-up exercise.

The event ended with the Honourable Chadzamira, Honourable Moyo, Mayor Chiwara, Eng. Mukaratirwa and Mrs Chingwara planting trees.

The City of Masvingo is making strides in local governance and scooped a prestigious award for outstanding performance in Government Parastatals (Services and Industrial) at the just ended Masvingo Agricultural show which was running under the theme, ‘Transformation is the key engine for economic growth’.

The award speaks to Council’s hard work, dedication in local governance and towards the residents of its jurisdiction. Winning an award is a delightful experience and the highest honour, as it emanates from recognition of teamwork and dedication.

Part of the City’s exhibition included drone displays, migration to e-governance, e-payments, e-support centre for queries and faults, investment promotion among other key issues.