Online Reporter
Sikhulekelani Moyo
Zimpapers Business Hub
THE Office of the President and Cabinet has warned some senior Government officials who usurp the mandate of local authorities, saying that line ministries should respect the three-tier Governance and the rule of law, especially in public procurement.
The Permanent Secretary for Presidential Affairs and Devolution in the Office of the President, Engineer Tafadzwa Muguti, issued the warning during the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) Public Procurement and Governance Conference for Local Authorities, which started on Monday and ended yesterday in Bulawayo .
Eng Muguti said local authorities were the third tier of legislative oversight.
“The Office of the President and Cabinet has started noticing a trend where certain line ministries are now overtaking local authorities and undertaking procurement directly,” said Eng Muguti.”Let me assure you all that this will not end well. Let’s respect that we have three tiers of governance in this country, as in our Constitution.
“Let’s respect each other and respect the law.”He said some senior Government officials imposed contractors of choice on local authorities, a practice he declared unethical.
“It doesn’t matter the title you hold, the law applies to everyone,” said Eng Muguti.
“So, let’s stop abusing our offices as the Central Government. Let’s allow local authorities to do what they were elected to do, which is to govern their jurisdictions.”
Eng Muguti said there was a lot of corruption happening across the country around public procurement processes.
He said the procurement laws mandated that accounting officers from local authorities handle public procurement.
Representatives from local authorities said there was need to complement each other in the different tiers of governance, rather than competing or interfering in each other’s operations.
“The three tiers of governance cannot exist without each other; any involvement needs to be complementary rather than competitive,” said the City of Harare mayor, Councillor Jacob Mafume, in an interview.
“There is a thin line between interference and complementarity, and what we need to do is to strike a balance between the tiers of Governance and striking that balance has been the most difficult part, we should allow the third tier of Government, which are local authorities some degree of autonomy to tailor make their needs, but we must also rely on the weight of Central Government to be able to bring about economies of scale.”
He said it was easy for the Central Government to buy heavy equipment leveraging economies of scale, but that certain things at some value thresholds needed to be tailor-made for a particular locality.
“We do hope conferences like the Public Procurement and Governance Conference for Local Authorities will help to find a perfect balance between complementarity and interference and create a greater degree of understanding in terms of what is required to be done,” said Cllr Mafume.
Wedza Rural District Council chairperson Mrs Sheila Mugabe said they had been relying on circulars from the parent line ministry, the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, as well as the resolutions from the councillors.
She said local authority resolutions were laws at the local level and that there was no need for Central Government interference.
“If there are any cases where the Central Government is interfering, it then depends on who is running the local authority,” said Mrs Mugabe.
“As chairs of RDCs, we comply with President Mnangagwa’s ‘Call to Action and No Compromise to Services Delivery’, that’s what we are working on as Wedza RDC.”
Meanwhile, Eng Muguti has said compliance with public procurement regulations was essential for local authorities to maintain integrity and accountability in their operations.
He said numerous court cases had highlighted significant shortcomings in this area, leading to serious legal repercussions for various local authorities in Zimbabwe.
“Instances of non-compliance, such as failure to follow competitive bidding processes or inadequate record-keeping, have resulted in legal challenges that not only drained public resources but also tarnished the reputation of local governance,” he emphasised.
“These court cases serve as stark reminders of the importance of adhering to the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act. By ensuring compliance, local authorities can mitigate risks associated with corruption and lack of improved service delivery.”
