Nyore Madzianike
Senior Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) and the Mashonaland West Business Association have urged Government to expedite the enactment of the Provincial and Metropolitan Councils Administration Bill to accelerate the implementation of devolution.
The call was made in petitions presented to Parliament through the Portfolio Committee on Local Government, Public Works and National Housing chaired by Dr Maxmore Njanji.
The committee received oral evidence from the two organisations and the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, as well as written submissions from the Office of the Attorney General.
The petitioners expressed concern over delays in passing the Provincial and Metropolitan Councils Administration Bill (H.B. 5, 2021), saying this had stalled the operationalisation of provincial structures and undermined the constitutional vision of devolved governance.
They said the absence of empowered provincial structures had affected local development planning, delayed service delivery and weakened accountability at subnational levels.
The organisations urged Parliament to prioritise the Bill and ensure its effective implementation, adequate resourcing and inclusive consultations once enacted.
They also called for the Bill to guarantee the participation of young people, women and persons with disabilities in Provincial and Metropolitan Councils.
In its second report on the petition, the Committee said: “While the Petitioners acknowledged the Government’s efforts to advance devolution through the implementation of the National Development Strategy 1 and 2, reservations were however made regarding the pace, scope, and effectiveness of its implementation.
“The continued non-functionality of Provincial and Metropolitan Councils was creating cleavages for continued non-galvanisation of the success achieved under NDS1 as the nation marches on towards Vision 2030.”
The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works and the Office of the Attorney General acknowledged the concerns, highlighting the Bill’s importance to national development and participatory governance.
However, they told the Committee that its promulgation had faced significant hurdles despite its urgency.
These included inconsistencies in the structure of Provincial Councils, which created constitutional challenges by blurring the distinction between the roles of Members of Parliament and devolved governance structures.
This necessitated realignment of the councils’ composition to ensure functional independence, coherence and constitutional compliance.
The delay in enacting Constitution Amendment (No. 2) also resulted in the lapse of the earlier Provincial Councils and Administration Amendment Bill, prompting the drafting of a new Bill.
The draft legislation is now before the Cabinet Committee on Legislation (CCL), with unresolved issues cited as the main obstacle to Cabinet approval.
The Committee said: “The Committee observed that despite the urgency and utmost need of the Bill for the operationalisation of Provincial Councils, it was equally fundamental to comprehend and decipher the complex and sensitive process of devolving functions within a unitary system of Government.
“Given the delicate nature of the tenets of devolution, the Committee notes that due diligence should be given to balancing the consequences of transforming a centralised/unitary system into a devolved system.
“Secondly, the transfer of governmental powers and responsibilities to lower tiers of government must be undertaken only when it is appropriate to do so and to those levels of government which are demonstrably competent to exercise those responsibilities.
