Chronicle Editor
Leonorah Ncube in Victoria Falls
The Government has directed local authorities to be guided by national development ethos to help the country in its socio-economic development aspirations and drive towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Speaking on the first day of the Southern Africa SDGs Localisation and Voluntary Local Reviews Capacity Building Workshop in Victoria Falls on Tuesday, Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe said the workshop, which ends on Thursday, is being attended by participants from Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, as well as partners from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office (UNRCO). The workshop was facilitated by the Government of Italy.
Minister Garwe commended development partners for their technical and financial assistance to local authorities. He said the workshop is part of the broader national development agenda as outlined in Vision 2030.
“The meeting gives us a platform to collectively review and energise our efforts towards attaining the aspirations of the sustainable development goals in our various national development frameworks.
“Let me implore our councillors and officials to always be guided by our national development ethos so that the country can realise the socio-economic development aspirations of Zimbabweans. As councils, you personify the Government, and whatever you do has a significant impact on the development trajectory of our beautiful country, Zimbabwe,” said Minister Garwe.
Local authorities are represented at the workshop.
Minister Garwe said the workshop creates a regional peer group drawn from three sisterly countries to share experiences and lessons.
“This is practically a show of our shared solidarity and experiences, which I believe is a critical ingredient in accelerating regional integration and cooperation. Zimbabwe has made significant progress towards implementing local reviews. Our first foray into this noble initiative involved conducting pilot reviews in two local authorities—Harare and Victoria Falls—in 2020, in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
“Since then, a number of development partners, who are represented here, have come on board to partner with the Government to build on these early efforts. Thanks to this support, we have continued to realise strong cascading voluntary reviews to 14 other urban and rural local authorities, such as Bulawayo City Council, Zvishavane Town Council, Bikita Rural District Council, and Mutasa Rural District Council,” he said.
“We are happy to report that your efforts are not in vain, as can be demonstrated by the full participation of all councils at this workshop. As a Ministry and indeed as cooperating partners, we are pleased that this initiative further received the full backing of Cabinet, which directed that all 92 local authorities in Zimbabwe become part of the Voluntary Local Review Process.
“We have no doubt that, through their commitment and dedication, Zimbabwe will attain its intended SDG outcomes,” added Minister Garwe.
He called upon cooperating partners in the United Nations family, the Government of Italy, and other willing partners to continue lending technical and financial support to local authorities to enhance residents’ capacities, enabling them to fully take on the responsibility of conducting voluntary local reviews.
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