Minister warns against politics over service delivery in councils

LOCAL Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe yesterday issued a stern warning to local authorities, cautioning them against prioritising political agendas over service delivery.

Government has over the years been grappling with the problem of urban councils’ failure to deliver good services to ratepayers. The opposition which now has different splinter groups has been in charge of most urban councils since 2002.

The minister’s call comes at a time when poor corporate governance and weak service delivery concerns continue to ruin the performance of local authorities across the country with the latest Auditor General’s report tabled before Parliament showing that 90 councils failed to comply with international financial reporting and accounting standards.

According to the report, local authorities are experiencing growth, but facilities have not been upgraded to match the growth.

The report stated that water, sewerage infrastructure, and waste management were not upgraded to match the growth.

The adverse report comes against President Mnangagwa’s “Call to Action, No Compromise to Service Delivery” blueprint for local authorities, launched in November last year. The blueprint directed every local authority to come up with a masterplan and evaluate all properties that are under their jurisdiction by June 30 this year.

In his keynote address during the official opening of a three-day consultative workshop for the Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe (UCAZ) in Bulawayo, Minister Garwe stressed the importance of focusing on providing essential services to the public.

He urged councils to prioritise the needs of their communities and ensure efficient and effective service delivery.
The directive aims to enhance accountability and improve the quality of life for residents by ensuring that local authorities remain committed to their core responsibilities rather than engaging in political manoeuvres.

Minister Garwe said his ministry treats every local authority equally regardless of the political affiliation of the authority’s leadership.

“People that are here were elected into office to serve our citizens, not to speak ill of each other, or about the President. You were elected to provide a world-class service for the people and let us do that. Let us focus on delivery, delivery and delivery, nothing else,” he said.

“Very soon, we will be asking the electorate to vote for us again and they have already started ticking the performance boxes. What legacy do we want to leave? Have we improved on water supply, burst sewer pipes, patching of potholes among a host of things we are expected to provide?”

The workshop is aimed at reviewing the UCAZ’s five-year strategic plan and also coming up with their strategic plan for the next five years which resonates with Vision 2030.

Minister Garwe said the strategic plan is the foremost policy blueprint to guide the association’s implementation of programmes and projects in the next five years.

“As you are aware, the Local Government sector plays a critical role as an enabler to Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy and Vision 2030, AU Agenda 2063, and the UN 2030 Agenda. This role continues to be even more critical as the country continues to grapple with devastating effects of illegal economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by Western Countries,” he said.

Minister Garwe said climate change has also affected Zimbabwe’s economic growth. He said the Government has mobilised resources to feed its citizens in urban and rural communities in the wake of the El-Nino-induced drought.

Minister Garwe reaffirmed President Mnangagwa’s position that no communities will be left behind in accessing food.

He said in his quest for improved service delivery by local authorities, President Mnangagwa officially launched the Call to Action — No Compromise to Service Delivery.

The first stage of these interventions is to align the operations of local authorities towards National Development Strategies pursuant to Vision 2030.

Areas of concern were revenue collection and distribution, compliance with the relevant laws, illegal leasing, and selling of land by local authorities in servitudes, illegal leasing and selling of communal and agricultural land by local authorities, and valuation rolls for properties for rating purposes as key priority areas of intervention.

“The results that came concerning the implementation of the Call-to-Action blueprint are somehow satisfactory, especially on valuation rolls and establishment of spatial planning departments,” said Minister Garwe.

“However, a lot needs to be done in areas such as development of master plans and ensuring enterprise resource planning systems are implemented, which most local authorities are still lagging. In this regard, the role played by UCAZ in providing leadership and oversight on urban local authorities cannot be overemphasised.”

He said the strategic plan should be aligned with the country’s National Development Agenda, as elaborated in the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the National Development Strategy and Vision 2030, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.

Minister Garwe said the strategic plan is anchored on a vision of empowered urban local authorities for sustainable service delivery by 2030, and will be delivered through promoting co-ordinated development with the Government, local government stakeholders, and citizens.