Non-performing councils to face budget bans and inquiries

Remember Deketeke

Herald Correspondent

The Government has warned that local authorities that continue to miss set service delivery targets will face strict corrective measures, including the withholding of budget approvals, cancellation of unnecessary workshops and in severe cases, commissions of inquiry.

Local Government and Public Works Minister, Daniel Garwe, said ths in an interview with The Herald on Monday on the progress of the Government’s Call to Action on service delivery, which was launched by President Mnangagwa in November 2023.

Minister Garwe said the blueprint guiding local authorities was explicit and gave no room for repeated failure.

“The blueprint is clear. One of the interventions is that in the future, the ministry will not approve budgets of local authorities that have not met what is outlined in the blueprint,” he said.

He added that councils which divert resources to travel and allowances would also be reined in.

“We are also not approving unnecessary workshops for council officials to ensure that they channel their resources to service delivery,” said Minister Garwe.

In the wake of persistent failures in Harare and other centres, the Minister said the Government would not hesitate to escalate matters when necessary.

“In serious cases like what you saw in Harare, we have recommended that commissions of inquiry be set to probe some of the problems,” he said.

“These are just a few among a host of interventions we are taking to ensure that there is improved service delivery.”

Minister Garwe stressed that the ministry’s approach was corrective rather than punitive, with Government officials actively engaging struggling councils.

“As the parent ministry, we are not just vindictive. Our teams are also sitting down with those local authorities that are failing, hearing the concerns and helping them,” he said.

He revealed that the Government was encouraging councils to explore partnerships with private players where capacity gaps persist.

“For example, as I alluded, we are even encouraging local authorities to privatise those services that they think they do not have capacity for,” he said. “Our aim at the end is to ensure that local authorities take a leading role in modernising service delivery in line with Vision 2030.”

The Call-to-Action initiative, launched by President Mnangagwa, seeks to transform service delivery across all urban and rural authorities through strict timelines, performance tracking and regular review meetings chaired at the highest level.