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Conrad Mupesa
Mash West Bureau
Councils can use devolution funds only to finance capital projects that have an impact on the attainment of Vision 2030 and are forbidden to use them to meet council running costs or paying salaries or perks.
Speaking during the first quarter review meeting of all local councils in her province aimed at assessing progress in devolution projects and service delivery drive, Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Mashonaland West Mary Mliswa-Chikoka said councils were supposed to positively change lives of societies through devolution and revenue funds.
Devolution funds are not for payrolls and other perks for council workers. Councils should come up with projects that positively impact people’s lives from the devolution funds. It is not imperative for councils to award its workers with huge perks at the expense of the people living below expected living conditions.
Devolution funds should help promote health, education, water service delivery and improve passable of roads to appreciate President Mnangagwa devolution projects, she said.
Minister Mliswa-Chikoka called on councils to work with department and emulate what other government departments were doing to help alleviate human lives across the nation. Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement is currently setting up boreholes in each village and as councils, you should emulate this move. Councils should purchase equipment that makes it easier to avail water to the people and engage District Development Fund and Zimbabwe National Water Authority for water service delivery and road maintenance, she added.
She bemoaned a glaring gap existing between councils and the district development coordinators which she said was affecting progress towards success of devolution agenda drive.
There is a gap between councils and DDCs which should be eliminated to improve development. Position of a DDC is not a decorative one but that which drives and spearheads development and devolution in the districts.
Minister Mliswa-Chikoka, who superintents the devolution programmes in her province, said while the Government was pumping out funds to promote devolution drive, availing of the money was now under heavy scrutiny as Government tightens screws to block misuse of funds by councils.
Most councils were still using some devolution funds for payrolls, purchase of ICT equipment and other spending that brought little or no impact to the lives of the communities. Provincial development coordinator, Mr Josphat Jaji said the meeting was complementing systems audit of all councils in the province being carried out by teams from his office.
Council heads gave presentations on the devolution projects that they were running in their areas.
Online Reporter