By Dennis Ndlovu|Zim GBC News<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Calls for accountability rang out during national budget consultations as citizens demanded better alignment between taxation and service delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During national budget consultations, Tamudashe Moyo voiced concerns over the misuse of tax revenues, urging the government to improve transparency and ensure that taxes directly benefit the public, particularly in infrastructure and civil servant welfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moyo criticised the disconnection between taxes collected and the services they intended to support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEvery year, new taxes are introduced, like the sugar tax or tollgate fees,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut these funds don\u2019t seem to be channeled to their intended purposes. For example, if you pay a toll fee and just 500 meters from the tollgate, you hit a pothole.\u201d He also cited the Beitbridge access fee as another example of misplaced priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou pay to access the road, but 20 kilometers from Beitbridge, there is no road. How do you justify paying for access when there\u2019s nothing to access?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moyo warned that continued neglect of basic services, particularly for low-income civil servants, could have long-term consequences for the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCivil servants are underpaid, yet they are raising children who also need good schools and proper healthcare. If this continues, we\u2019re creating a generation of poverty.\u201d He added that economic strain on ordinary citizens would ultimately hurt the country\u2019s tax base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTaxes are supposed to come from people who are working, who are productive. If people are trapped in poverty, there\u2019ll be no one left to generate revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moyo urged the government to review civil servant salaries and improve service delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe must restore dignity to workers, especially civil servants, because even the cars driven by Members of Parliament are financed by us, the taxpayers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Sukoluhle Mhlanga raised the alarm over the government’s failure to disburse BEAM (Basic Education Assistance Module) funds since the beginning of 2023, warning that this delay is undermining children\u2019s right to education especially among poor, female-headed households and learners with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking during budget consultations, Mhlanga said the Ministry of Public Service had informed Parliament of the funding delays, which have left schools unable to support learners who depend on the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMany parents, due to high unemployment, rely entirely on BEAM,\u201d She said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWithout it, poor families especially women are often pushed into informal or corrupt payment systems, including gender-based corruption such as sextortion, just to keep their children in school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She added that some vulnerable children, despite being registered under BEAM, are still being excluded from education due to a lack of disbursed support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mhlanga warned that public trust in BEAM and other social protection schemes is deteriorating fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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