Govt assesses devolution projects
A TEAM of Government officials is currently assessing various projects implemented by local authorities countrywide, under the tranche of devolution funds disbursed last year
e devolution funds were disbursed twice last year, to all urban and rural councils, with the first tranche being a total of US$310 million while another $417 million was shared by the local authorities later in the year.
The Sunday Mail has gathered that the assessment programme is set to be completed in the next few weeks, thereby paving way for the disbursement of this year’s funds.
Government has set aside $2,9 billion for 2020 developmental ventures under the devolution drive.
Local Government and Public Works acting secretary Mr Christopher Shumba said the ongoing National Constitution amendments to plug legislative loopholes on the devolution issue will not affect current work and plans.
“We have teams of District Council Coordinators (DCCs) on the ground at the moment. They are assessing various projects that were implemented by local authorities,” he said.
“We are expecting that once the assessment has been finalized, we will start preparation of the first disbursement of the year.
“We have, however, noted that last year when we disbursed funds under devolution, some local authorities held the money in their accounts for a considerable time.
“This time around we have decided to rope in partners that can come and train local authorities on how to handle large amount of disbursements.
“Projects to be implemented this year are those that were discussed in pre-budget consultations meetings.”
Rural and Urban Planning senior lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, Dr Charles Chavunduka said if implemented to the letter, the programme will yield remarkable results.
“If implemented in its true sense, devolution will empower the ordinary person because council chambers are open, through councillors and representatives, therefore there is more citizen involvement,” he said.
“This also improves service delivery because there is now dialogue between the council authority and the citizens. The authorities will now respond to the needs and demands of the citizens because their proximity.
“In addition, there is increased sustainability. Once you devolve and there is responsibility to the local level, the local people are better motivated to pay their taxes because they can make the council accountable.”
Last year, Government used part of the devolution funds meant for Harare projects to procure water chemicals and alleviate the water crisis.
In Gokwe-North, the Rural District Council acquired a motorised grader that has been undertaking road rehabilitation and construction.
Binga Rural District Council managed to build two blocks of classrooms at Chibondo Primary School using part of the devolution funds.
Devolution seeks to achieve fair and balanced development. This will be spearheaded by provincial councils.
This is in sync with Section (2) of the country’s Constitution, under which Government should allow provincial councils to set local development priorities. It is also in line with the Second Republic’s emphasis on economic development ahead of politics.
African countries that have embraced devolution include Uganda, Nigeria and Kenya.
In South Africa, the devolved system of governance has seen the semi-autonomous entities funding up to 85 percent of their operational costs.