Chronicle Editor
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
THE Ministry of Local Government and Public Works has announced that masterplans for 90 local authorities are now available for public review for a period of 60 days with the exception of Harare and Chitungwiza, which have not yet submitted their plans amid revelations that Government has stepped in to ensure compliance.
The masterplans serve as an overarching land use planning document, detailing policies and strategies concerning land utilisation, development processes, future water supplies, road networks, housing, environmental management and transportation. They typically include reports, aerial photographs, illustrations, maps and statistical data to support the planned vision.
In an interview, the Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Daniel Garwe shared insights into the Government’s push for these plans.
“In November last year, the President pronounced the Call-to-Action, no compromise to service delivery blueprint and pointed to three critical areas. One of the areas was the production of masterplans by the 92 local authorities, 32 in urban areas and 60 in rural communities. The second one was the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and the third was valuation roles. We then took that matter to local authorities and advised them that the President had given us up to 30 June 2024 to produce the three.”
Minister Garwe expressed satisfaction with the progress made so far.
“I am pleased to announce that of the 92 local authorities, 90 have submitted and two have not done that, Harare and Chitungwiza. All others have produced, about 70 percent have produced their ERPs and about 75 percent have produced their valuation roles. The problematic local authorities are Harare and Chitungwiza and we have now intervened as Local Government, the parent ministry to ensure we assist so that the masterplans are produced.”
Following the submissions, the public is now able to review the draft masterplans on exhibition and provide feedback.
“There is a lot of progress in that regard. We are at a stage where the masterplans are now available for public scrutiny for a total of 60 days. Anyone can go and view and make comments, and from there we implement,” added Minister Garwe.
In another notable development, the City of Victoria Falls has announced a public exhibition of their draft plan from October 17 to December 16, 2024.
“Any interested person or organisation may make objections to, or representations regarding the draft masterplan in writing to the Provincial Officer Department of Spatial Planning Matabeleland North Province, Ministry of Local Government, Public Works, Mhlahlandlela Complex Bulawayo on or before December 28, 2024.
“Objections and representations should state the matters to which they relate and the grounds on which they are made. Objections or representations must at the same time be copied and sent to the Town Clerk, Victoria Falls,” reads a notice from the City of Victoria Falls.
Several challenges have arisen across various cities and towns where land is being allocated for non-residential uses without proper planning, resulting in the illegal sale of wetlands, servitudes, and communal land. This mismanagement has led to issues like flooding during rainy seasons.
Experts assert that masterplans provide a clear framework for urban development with community input, essential for addressing rapid population growth in cities like Harare, where inadequate service delivery and haphazard construction have become significant issues. Additionally, illegal mining and deforestation have surged, highlighting the need for clearly articulated land use.
Local authorities have been urged to adopt Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems such as the Local Authority Digital System (LADS), designed to enhance revenue collection, data management, stand allocations, budgeting, and bill payments. The Ministry of Local Government recognizes that many local authorities suffer from weak systems in data collection and budgeting, often relying on obsolete software.
ERP systems like LADS promise to provide councils with comprehensive and organized information management, reducing the chances of manipulation. Many councils struggle with billing clients due to their lack of ERP utilisation.
The LADS, developed by the Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) serve as a crucial financial tool for municipalities with Engineer Tererai Maphosa Director for LADS at HIT, emphasising that the system automates all aspects of an organisation including billing and accounting.
“It is an ERP software that automates all the aspects of an organisation and we have this one for councils. We can do billing, some councils are struggling to produce bills for their clients, receipts and even accounting for the revenue they will have collected. We also have the procurement management requisitions in the system that are now automated.”
Eng Maphosa also highlighted that councils can request quotations through LADS, addressing frequent issues of ordered but undelivered goods. “LADS technology will ensure that all goods and services paid for and not delivered will be flagged if not delivered,” he added. — @NyembeziMu
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