‘Shun corruption, push devolution’
LOCAL authority bosses in the Midlands Province have been advised to vigorously drive the devolution agenda being pursued by the Second Republic.
Midlands Minister of Provincial Affairs and Devolution Larry Mavima warned officials that Government will not hesitate to fire all those engaging in corrupt activities. Minister Mavima said this during the launch of the Midlands Provincial Development Strategy in Gweru recently.
Corruption has been identified as a cancer that must be nipped in the bud if Zimbabwe is to attain Vision 2030 of an upper middle income economy, hence the desire by Government to clamp down on the vice.
Minister Mavima said it was no longer business as usual for rural district council chief executive officers and urban council bosses as the Second Republic, led by President Mnangagwa, expects them to deliver tangible development to the people.
“Rural district council chief executives, and town clerks are the drivers of our devolution agenda. Local authorities must therefore fully embrace the devolution and Vision 2030 agenda and shake off past practices, shun corruption and embrace a new culture of doing business focusing more on the development of areas of their jurisdiction,” he said.
Local authorities have been challenged to redefine their by-laws to meet the new demands aimed at taking prospering the nation.
Minister Mavima said councils should prioritise issues of economic development and revisit all policies, by-laws practices that inhibit economic development.
“City councils and RDCs must modernise, fill up the skills gap and capacitate themselves in order to achieve their development goals,” he said
Already, Tongogara CEO Mr Brain Rufasha and Mvuma District Development Coordinator Mr Vafi Hlabati have been sacked on allegations of abuse of office.
Minister Mavima said the Midlands Province was endowed with vast deposits of minerals, such as gold and platinum, and there was no reason to fail to contribute significantly to the national GDP.
“Under the Second Republic we are supposed to have our provincial GDP and as the province, we have a lot of mineral deposits. We now receive devolution funds so we have to perform,” he said.
Through devolution, a number of areas have implemented various projects including irrigation and construction of clinics, schools and roads.
This has seen most areas being navigable after roads were improved while clean, tap water is now available and clinics are closer to the people.