‘Unity key to success of devolution’
SUCCESSFUL implementation of devolution needs the efforts of every Zimbabwean to ensure Government’s aim of inclusive sustainable development is achieved, acting chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Local Government, Public Works, National Housing and Social Amenities Cde Dumuzweni Mawite said this week.
At a meeting with the Local Government Trust and the ‘We Pay, You Deliver Consortium’ on devolution and decentralisation on Monday, he said civic participation was critical for the successes of Government policies.
The ‘We Pay, You Deliver Consortium’ is a grouping of residents’ associations from across the country.
“We ought to realise that the full and effective implementation of devolution rests not on the shoulders of MPs or the Executive, but on each and every Zimbabwean,” said Cde Mawite.
Last year, Government launched and implemented the National Devolution and Decentralisation Policy to devolve responsibilities to lower tiers of Government.
Government wants provinces to work towards developing their areas by identifying developmental gaps, then using the funds allocated for local spending to fill these gaps.
The policy is built around the concept that local people know far more about local needs and can set the priorities and order of development better than anyone else.
President Mnangagwa has said the devolution policy is critical in providing mechanisms for citizens’ involvement in their own development.
He believes it is important for community leaders to come up with developmental issues they need addressed, since it is them that confront the challenges daily.
Central Government only comes in to provide funding for the identified projects. For instance, while some areas need schools closer to certain communities, other areas have challenges relating to shortages of clinics and others have bad roads.
This has seen massive developments happening across the country, with dams, roads, clinics, schools and in some cases additional classroom blocks, being built to address community challenges.
Some areas now have piped water at centres in rural areas after the projects were funded under devolution.
During Monday’s meeting, the spotlight was on the prospective legislation on devolution that was laid out by President Mnangagwa in his State of the Nation’s Address delivered last week.
These include the Provincial Councils and Administration Amendment Bill, the Urban Councils Amendment Bill, the Rural District Councils Amendment Bills and the Regional Town and Country Planning Bill, among others.
Participants at the meeting also discussed roles played by Provincial Affairs Ministers, Provincial Development Coordinators, and chairpersons of Metropolitan and Provincial Councils, with some seeing potential conflict as there could be duplication of duties.
They said the issue required further engagements among stakeholders as Parliament awaited to debate the Bills that will set out the further implementation of the devolution policy.