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Martin Stobart
Lupane is a messy livestock-laden ‘town.’ The provincial capital is worse than a rural area in the sense that in the latter there are designated livestock grazing areas.
In Lupane town the “suburbs” are the grazing areas for livestock from surrounding areas. The whole scenario has degenerated into a farce.
The encroachment into Lupane town by the rural livestock (cattle, donkeys, goats and even dogs) this season has far exceeded the numbers of the previous years in spite of the fact that the Lupane Local Board has employed a substantive town secretary.
There is something fishy here. Although I cannot prove it concretely, I suspect that someone is going beyond the town secretary’s back to incite the rural folks to bring their cattle into the town for grazing.
They say that where two bulls fight it is the “grass” that suffers. The grass in this case, refers to the residents of Lupane whose properties are being destroyed and whose land and environs are being degraded by the animals.
Because of the overwhelming livestock presence in this town it is very difficult for owners to develop their properties.
Surely, is it not the duty and responsibility of the local board to protect and safeguard the investment of the town and to create conditions in which growth and expansion can take place?
The Ministry of Local Government has to intervene. There is overwhelming evidence for that course of action by the line ministry. What is compounding the situation at Lupane is that there is no substantive leadership all round from the local board itself to the business community and the residents themselves. The fact is, managers and administrators are leaders in the community in addition to their substantive roles and duties as employees.
I am a former commissioner of the Lupane Local Board and I know what is going on including the victimisation of a particular business sector, something that has nothing to do with development and that is even ultra vires the new constitution of Zimbabwe. In fact, if the residents of Lupane had elected pro-active leaders they would go to court to challenge the failure by the local authority to stop rural livestock from grazing in suburbs.
The Act (chapter 29:15) supports the residents. The residents could also petition the Minister on the issue. The local authority has to show cause why the residents should not complain about this invasion by livestock. Some people are saying that as I am the only commissioner who played a leading role in the hiring of the new secretary I should be blamed. But the thing is that when we interview candidates for an advertised vacancy we have to be professional and non-partisan and stick to the academic and professional qualifications as well as the experience as advertised. All other considerations fall by the wayside. Panelists are not supposed to consider niceties which may be manifested by an applicant or applicants.
What I have stated above is recorded in the minutes. If we hire an applicant who does not possess the stated qualifications we may face litigation.
People know their rights nowadays. If the best qualified person fails to match up as happens all too often, it is up to the aggrieved to take action especially if they are the ones who pay the employee’s salary. Leaders must interact with the community and not be aloof or display a holier-than-thou attitude.
As if the plight of Lupane residents as highlighted above is not enough, the residents are not represented in the local board meaning that they are not only at the mercy and devices and caprices of the management, but that they are also denied the space to exercise their democratic rights as bestowed on them by the constitution. In the 31 July 2013 harmonised elections the community of Lupane was placed in Ward 15, a rural ward under the jurisdiction of Kusile Rural District Council. Is there any sense in that? There are no commissioners as the Ministry dissolved the board on June 29, 2013. What kind of local governance is this? One man is running the affairs of the Lupane Local Board and those of KRDC while retaining the status of his substantive post. Surely this is too much for one person no matter how much of a genius he is. The people of Lupane deserve democratic governance and transparency in the running of their affairs.
Now let me proffer a suggestion on how the local authority can deal with the encroachment of livestock into the town. The local authority can actually petition the minister that the radius of the town be receded (pushed back) so that the boundary is, say 10 kilometres. That is where the rural area will begin.
This is the message that should be communicated to the rural residents citing of course the reasons for this, namely their failure to restrain their livestock from grazing in the suburbs where development is taking place everyday. The arrogance displayed by the rural neighbours borders on the criminal and the failure by the local authority to deal effectively with the situation equates to a dereliction of duty. Community leaders (residents and business associations) should compel the local authority to take action on this. They should be pro-active and representative. Leadership is about initiating ideas.
Rural Lupane constituting the boundary with Lupane town is congested already. A decongestion plan/exercise is urgently needed. The management should put its money where its mouth is. Victimising its important clients is a show of vanity (remember the play Vanity Fair?)
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