Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve, [email protected]
THE Government has reiterated its commitment to devolution, declaring it the ultimate vehicle for Zimbabwe to cement its sovereignty and unlock rapid, grassroots-driven economic growth, with legal frameworks now being finalised to ensure full implementation of the agenda.
In a wide-ranging interview with Zimpapers, the Permanent Secretary for Presidential Affairs and Devolution in the Office of the President, Engineer Tafadzwa Muguti, said the Second Republic is reconfiguring the country’s governance architecture along the lines laid out in the 2013 Constitution.
“The devolution agenda in Zimbabwe is very clear. The Constitution amended in 2013 gives us a holistic view that the Government shall be reconfigured into three architectures or three tiers. The first one being Central Government right at the top, the second being the Provincial Government, and the third being Local Government,” said Eng Muguti.
He said devolution is not about weakening the centre but extending governance closer to the people, restoring a bottom-up development model that had been eroded by excessive centralisation from the late 1990s onwards.
“It’s important for people to realise that this is actually an extension of governance for provinces. Going forward, the country is now faced with the ultimate task of creating the Devolution Act which supersedes the Provincial Councils and Administration Act — which supersedes any other Act which is to speak into devolution and governance,” he said.
Under the new framework, Zimbabwe’s legislature and judiciary will also be devolved.
Parliament will be complemented by provincial legislatures and local councils, while the judiciary will span the High Court, provincial courts, and local courts.
Crucially, the Government is also moving to amalgamate rural and urban local authorities into a single Local Authorities Act.
“Devolution will not only touch Central Government, it will also ensure that even on our judicial and legislature we are also devolved on two sides,” Eng Muguti said.
He clarified the distinct roles of each tier saying Provincial councils act as provincial parliaments with oversight functions rather than implementation roles, ensuring provincial by-laws are subservient to national acts.
“So for example, the City of Harare cannot be able to talk about having a bylaw for water without talking to the provincial bylaw of water without talking to the National Water Act,” he said.
At the apex remains Cabinet chaired by the President, while provincial development committees — effectively provincial cabinets —are chaired by Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution.
At local level, development committees are chaired by town clerks or chief executive officers, with the possibility of executive mayors should the President so wish.
Eng Muguti said devolution is indispensable for tackling grassroots challenges, including the rampant sale of communal land and corruption at local level.
“Having said that, devolution remains the Achilles heel for accelerated economic development. At the present moment we should ensure that through devolution we release power to the people, bring back village development committees which also oversee any form of development. This will also stop the rampant sale of communal land and the rampant corruption activities happening at grassroots,” he said.
He added that councillors must be made more accountable, with ward development committees acting as watchdogs.
Since the adoption of the devolution agenda, significant milestones have been recorded.
The Government has consistently allocated devolution funds to all local authorities, with provinces now constructing roads, drilling boreholes, equipping clinics, and rehabilitating schools.
The establishment of Provincial Development Committees has strengthened coordination, while the ongoing crafting of the Devolution Act promises to harmonise existing legislation.
“Even fiscal performance analysis can be measured in a devolved nature. Devolution is the ultimate goal for us to be able to develop our country and take Zimbabwe to an inclusive, empowered and prosperous upper middle-income society,” said Eng Muguti.
With legal instruments now being put in place, the Second Republic has made it clear that devolution is no longer a constitutional promise but an unfolding reality, one that places sovereignty in the hands of the people and development at their doorsteps.
Bongani Ndlovu