BY Garikai Mafirakureva CHIREDZI residents last week called on government to reduce military expenditure in the 2021 national budget and channel more resources towards social services. The residents were speaking during a 2021 national budget consultative meeting led by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance and Economic Development chaired by Zaka North legislator Rabison Mavhenyengwa. Human rights monitor, Marko Shoko said Zimbabwe was not at war, hence the Finance ministry should channel more resources towards education, health as well as social welfare and stop burdening the country with unnecessary military expenditure. Patricia Zunga said morale in schools was low and the government should seriously look into the plight of teachers and pay them a salary commensurate with the work they do. She also said there was no need for government to continue to allocate huge amounts to the Defence ministry. “Government should consider allocating more money towards the construction of new schools in Chiredzi,” Zunga said. United Chiredzi Residents and Ratepayers Association programmes officer Constance Chikumbo said public hospitals were in a sorry state with no medicine, burdening the poor who could not afford to get treatment at private hospitals. “Immobility of police officers is making countless criminals unaccounted for because most police stations have no vehicles to track down reported cases,” Chikumbo said. “This is an impetus to spiralling cases of corruption by our police force which is now taking bribes in order to open an investigation. Our hospitals need to be stocked with medicine so the government should give more resources to the Health and Child Care ministry.” Other residents said more resources should be allocated to cater for people living with disabilities and other vulnerable members of the community.