Harare nears full fiscalisation, advances BIQ system rollout

Herald Reporter

THE City of Harare has made significant progress in modernising its financial management systems, with the local authority now between 80 and 90 percent complete on its fiscalisation programme while continuing the rollout of the BIQ Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.

The developments are expected to enhance billing efficiency, strengthen revenue collection and improve service delivery as the city accelerates efforts to modernise its operations and improve financial accountability.

City officials said the fiscalisation programme, which integrates transactions with tax and revenue management systems, is nearing completion and will help improve transparency, reduce revenue leakages and streamline financial processes.

Chairperson of the Finance and Development Committee, Councillor Jubilation Shoko (Ward 45, Dzivarasekwa), said the city had made substantial progress on both fiscalisation and the migration from the Sage ERP platform to BIQ.

“We are between 80 and 90 percent complete in terms of fiscalisation. We have already procured almost everything required in terms of hardware and gadgets and we are now focusing on system configurations,” said Clr Shoko.

“We had fallen behind on fiscalisation largely because of challenges related to the ERP system, but as we resolve those ERP challenges, we are simultaneously addressing our fiscalisation obligations.”

Fiscalisation is a key requirement by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) aimed at improving transparency and accountability through the use of approved electronic systems that record and transmit transaction data.

Clr Shoko said the city had also made notable progress in migrating from Sage to BIQ, the ERP system that was previously used by the local authority before 2019.

“The migration from Sage to BIQ is now underway, and we are implementing the system in phases to ensure a smooth transition. We have already started billing and receipting on BIQ, and residents will notice that the next bills they receive will look different because they will be generated from the new system,” he said.

The councillor revealed that implementation of the BIQ ERP project had now reached 40 percent, with several critical modules already operational.

“So far, modules for receipting, billing, fiscalisation and the General Ledger are already functional, marking a significant milestone in the implementation process,” said Clr Shoko.

According to a recent report presented to the council by Acting Head of Information Communication Technology (ICT), Mr William Mugobogobo, the BIQ ERP project implementation had reached 40 percent completion, with three out of the 10 contracted modules already functional.

In his report, Mr Mugobogobo said: “The BIQ ERP project implementation progress is now at 40 percent, with three out of 10 modules already functional. These are receipting, billing, fiscalisation and General Ledger modules.”

Mr Mugobogobo further noted that the online payments platform had been successfully configured, with three financial institutions already tested and approved for use.

“The online payments platform has been successfully configured and three financial institutions have already been successfully tested for use. More banks are currently being configured for online payments integration,” read part of the report.

The city is implementing close to 10 modules under BIQ, including lease management, credit control and bank reconciliation, among other critical financial functions.

“We are working flat out to ensure that all the modules are fully operational. It is a comprehensive process involving about 10 modules and the work is progressing well,” said Clr Shoko.

Mr Mugobogobo said the remaining modules scheduled for implementation under the BIQ system include asset management, budget management, inventory procurement, stores management, accounts payable, payroll, bank reconciliations and costing modules.

He added that training for all cashiers, clearing officers and billing staff on the receipting module had already been completed as part of efforts to ensure a seamless transition to the new platform.

To ensure continuity of operations and safeguard data integrity, the city is currently running both the Sage and BIQ systems concurrently during the transition period.

“We have not completely shut down Sage because we are still migrating historical data from one system to the other,” said Clr Shoko.

“For the next few months, we will continue operating both systems as we manage the transition.”

The local authority has also started collecting taxpayers’ Taxpayer Identification Numbers and fiscal information to build a comprehensive database ahead of full fiscalisation.

In addition, the city has procured new and modern computer hardware for district offices, service centres and processing points to support the upgraded systems.

“Almost every district office has received new computers and installations are ongoing. It is all systems go in terms of modernising our operations and ensuring that our systems run smoothly,” said Clr Shoko.

He added that the Auditor-General had already been invited to verify and audit historical financial records to ensure accuracy and bring closure to outstanding financial issues.

“We have already invited the Auditor-General to carry out verifications and audits of historical figures,” he said.

“We believe this process will help bring finality to outstanding issues and strengthen public confidence in the city’s financial records.”

The ongoing reforms are expected to improve accountability, minimise revenue leakages and enhance the efficiency of municipal service delivery across the capital.