HARARE – The City of Harare has only four functional ambulances out of the capital’s requirement of 32, finance and development committee chair councillor Costa Mande has revealed.

Mande said this on Tuesday when he presented the council’s US$548.2 million budget proposals for 2025.

Mande proposed an emergency services levy of $1 per household to fund the city’s dilapidated emergency services.

He said: “Our emergency services require urgent capacitation. Out of a requirement of 32 ambulances only four are functional. To this effect, we are proposing the introduction of emergency services and street lighting levies in the 2025 fiscal year to augment funding.

“Households will be charged US$1 as an emergency services levy and US$1 as street lighting levy. An emergency services levy is a crucial financial tool which will provide a dedicated source of revenue to fund essential emergency services.”

He said the street lights levy will also provide a dedicated source of revenue to fund the installation of street lighting infrastructure.

Of the US$548.2 million budget, US$137.3 million will be spent on capital expenditure while recurrent expenditure takes the remaining US$410.8 million. The council is targeting to raise US$482.3 million from collections, property tax and licencing among other charges.

The bulk of the capital expenditure budget will be taken up by the water, sanitation and hygiene and small and medium enterprises infrastructure development.

The city’s total revenues for January 1 to September 30, 2024, amounted to ZiG 2 billion against a billing of ZiG 5 billion.