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Harare Residents' Trust submission to Parliament on service delivery
in Harare
Harare Residents
Trust (HRT)
February 19, 2010
The
Chairperson of the Committee, Honourable Members of Parliament,
Ladies and gentlemen,
1. Introduction:
The HRT is an independent residents' movement that was established
by concerned citizens in February 2008 with the vision of being
'an effective advocate for good governance and accountability
in Harare Metropolitan Province'. Its Mission is to represent
and capacitate the residents of Harare to advocate for quality and
affordable services by elected representatives and service providers.
We receive our funding from residents in their respective areas,
donations by organisations and companies.
2. Context
of Presentation:
a. Residents of Harare object to the rates and rentals being charged
by the City of Harare and want them reviewed in line with the multi-currency
policy regime. Residents were charged 51 percent on overdue accounts,
before and after the introduction of the multi-currency regime in
February 2009 until mid 2009, meaning most residents had accumulated
huge debts. The City of Harare's Finance Director has written
to thousands of residents demanding payment yet the council declines
residents an opportunity to input into proper budget formulation.
b. Residents
are still recovering from the impact of Operation Murambatsvina
of 2005, the devastating effects of 2008, high levels of unemployment
and general economic decline. The majority of citizens earn around
US$150.
c. The issue
of home ownership is pertinent but there has been very little information
dissemination by the local authority to educate citizens on how
they can possibly acquire title deeds for their properties. Thousands
of residents of Harare living in the old suburbs are still living
in rented accommodation, when in fact they have lived in those houses
for more than 30 years.
d. It also
needs to be highlighted that eastern and some northern suburbs have
not had water supplies for nearly 24 months, but they still receive
water bills. The City of Harare in January started implementing
the 2010 City Budget despite more than the mandatory 30 objections
by residents of Harare, in terms of the Urban
Councils' Act (Chapter 29:15). Tenants living in the Mbare
Hostels have been issued with letters of final demand after the
majority failed to pay up overdue accounts, which have accumulated
over the months since February 2009, when the multi-currency system
was introduced.
e. The councillors
running the City of Harare were elected into office during the March
2008 Harmonised Elections, under political, social and economic
difficulties.
f. There have
been serious challenges weighing against quality service provision;
the overbearing powers of the Minister of Local Government, Rural
and Urban Development in the administration of local authorities,
the incapacity of most councillors to grasp local governance, lack
of financial and material resources to rehabilitate the archaic
water and sewer reticulation infrastructure.
3. SERVICE
DELIVERY
a.
Refuse Collection:
i. Non existent
in most high density areas, yet residents continue to be charged
for once a week refuse collection.
ii. The HRT
is particularly worried about the utilisation of financial resources
given to the City Health Department by the World Health Organisation
(WHO) and UNICEF towards preparedness; eradication and mitigation
of cholera.
iii. Some training
workshops were held in the CBD under above but were not undertaken
in the districts to educate more citizens on cholera and other epidemic
diseases despite assurances to do so. Our fear is that most of the
funds were diverted to personnel and administration. The City Health
Department has been secretive about the utilisation of these funds.
b. Sewer
Reticulation and water infrastructure:
i. We acknowledge
seeing water pipes being laid down in the Central Business District,
Highfield, Mbare, Warren Park, Glen Norah, Glen View, Mabvuku and
Tafara.
ii. However
burst sewer pipes have continued to gush out sewage onto the streets
in the above suburbs, threatening lives.
iii. There
has been a concerted effort by the City of Harare at clearing drainages
along streets and roads in residential areas.
iv. The sewer
system and water reticulation infrastructure in Harare is broken
down and requires a complete rehabilitation, which needs substantial
funding from Central Government, business and industry.
v. Councillors
have been given the primary responsibility of recruiting people
to clear these drainages. Policymakers in public utilities cannot
be seen to be implementing their own decisions. This programme has
mainly benefited people recruited through the councillors in their
respective wards, making it subject to manipulation and abuse.
vi. Every ratepayer
should be accorded an equal opportunity of working for the City
of Harare, without prejudice.
c. Nenyere Hostels, Mbare and Chizhanje- Mabvuku (Case Study)
The HRT invites
your honourable Committee to visit the Nenyere Hostels and other
hostels in Mbare to observe for yourself the kind of living conditions
the hostel tenants have been exposed to for a long time. After this
visit we pray that your report will spur the Ministry of Health
and Child Welfare, and the Ministry of Local Government, Rural and
Urban Development to take immediate remedial action. The right of
these tenants to a health and clean environment in terms of the
Public Health Act (Chapter 15:09) has been compromised. Ironically,
the City of Harare provides insignificant services in the hostels
yet expect the tenants to pay exorbitant rates and rentals. For
your benefit, we will attempt to give you the picture. The open
space between Blocks One, Two, Three, and Four has sewer and dirty
water gushing out without restraint throughout the day. Behind each
of these blocks, sewer continues to pile on the ground, creating
mountains of human waste. At the same time, used water constantly
leaks from the rusty pipes, instead of flowing into the city's
sewer systems. The general state of the hostels is disgusting and
provides a fertile ground for the spread of communicable and water
borne diseases. The situation is more difficult to hundreds of tenants,
especially women and children who have to carry out household chores
and play their games respectively.
4. Representation
by Councillors
The HRT's
relationship with elected representatives is purely based on the
following key principles;
i. That once
elected into office, an elected official ceases to represent the
interests of his/her political party on whose ticket he/she was
elected.
ii. Citizens
will hold accountable the elected representatives without political
considerations. If they do something good, we commend them. When
they fail we attempt to engage them and if they refuse to listen
we will not remain quiet.
iii. Our elected
representatives are our servants who have to work in partnership
with citizens on a mutually beneficial relationship.
Our
Expectation:
i. Councillors,
as policymakers represent the interests of all citizens at ward
level.
ii. Elected
representatives should convene regular feedback meetings with their
constituents. The issues raised at these meetings inform their input
at council meetings, starting with service delivery issues and facilitating
effective policy formulation. It means that councillors make use
of the council's heads of departments, the mayor, the committees
and the full council to execute their mandate. To effectively deliver
on their mandate in line with what has been highlighted earlier,
the councillors do, as a matter of necessity, need the resident,
who pays for rentals and rates at the end of every month.
iii. The City
of Harare has a good crop of councillors in 20 wards that have genuinely
represented residents' interests in the conduct of council
business. Some of the councillors in the remaining 26 wards still
have a long way to go before they begin to grasp the basics of elective
representation. As policymakers, councillors need to act honestly,
transparently and the HRT holds them accountable for their actions
on behalf of residents of Harare.
iv. The HRT
expects all councillors to deal with issues of service delivery,
administrative and policy formulation in that priority order.
5. Special
Interest Councillors
a. In terms
of the Urban Councils' Act (Chapter 29:15), the Minister of
Local Government, Rural and Urban Development has to appoint special
interest councillors, not exceeding one third of the total number
of elected councillor for the respective town or city council.
b. These are
not representing anyone in Harare except the Minister of Local Government,
Rural and Urban Development. They are a drain on council resources.
6. Recommendations:
a.
Refuse Collection:
i. It is the
responsibility of the local authority and the Ministry of Health
and Child Welfare to ensure that residents have a clean environment
(Public Health Act Chapter 15:09).
ii. The City
of Harare needs to develop strong partnerships with business for
the provision of refuse bins, repair of refuse trucks or purchase
of new refuse trucks and the purchase of more skip bins for public
places, especially shopping centres.
iii. There
should be a sustainable refuse disposal mechanism and more dumping
sites should be identified to make it easy for the city council,
residents, companies and other players to dump refuse at these sites.
iv. If the City of Harare is unable to provide this service, it
should stop charging residents and come up with a supporting policy
so that residents take over this responsibility in their respective
communities.
b. Special
Interest Councillors
i. The powers
bestowed upon the Minister of Local Government, Rural and Urban
Development in terms of the Urban Councils' Act regarding
the special interest councillors are excessive and should be taken
away. Residents, business, land developers and other professional
bodies with special interest in local government should be given
priority to select their own representatives in council. Current
special interest councillors were simply handpicked by the Minister
without due consideration to real special interests.
ii. Alternatively,
the provision in the principle Act that provides for the appointment
of special interest councillors should be removed. Residents, reeling
from economic hardships and repressive rentals and rates, cannot
afford additional councillors that lack the peoples' mandate.
c. Sewer
Reticulation and water infrastructure:
i. The government
should make budgetary provisions to ensure that our city has functional
sewer and water reticulation systems. The US$17 million grant from
the Ministry of Finance has meant an improvement in the provision
of water, cutting down on leakages and rusty water supplies.
d. Legislative
Reforms
i. Local Government
should be a Constitutional matter, and not only an Act of Parliament.
ii. The Urban
Councils' Act has to recognise the existence of citizens'
groups as legitimate residents' and ratepayers' representatives.
iii. (Read
Section 288 together with Section 219 of the Urban Councils'
Act). Budget formulation and implementation by the City of Harare
remains a legitimate concern of Harare residents. In terms of the
Act, once the initially published budget receives at least 30 letters
of objection from residents, it is set aside, requiring the council
to pass another budget that is below the objected rates. There is
no legal requirement for a neutral arbitrator to deal with budget
objections, making it open to manipulative council workers who may
even destroy or downplay the quantity of objections.
iv. This situation
has left residents and ratepayers at the mercy of manipulative City
heads of departments who go to all lengths to safeguard their huge
perks and other lucrative incentives, relegating the owners- the
residents of the City to a life of squalor.
v. Consultations
carried out by councillors before the budget is subsequently presented
to the full council for debate and adoption should go beyond existing
formalities to become mandatory. The Act does not provide for a
certain percentage of participation by ratepayers in a given ward
to ensure the budgets are legitimate.
vi. The HRT
proposes a provision in the Act that puts a mandatory figure or
percentage of attendance at these consultative meetings to reflect
the legitimate viewpoint of ratepayers and residents.
vii. A proceedings
report, accompanied by an attendance register is an acceptable monitoring
tool to ensure compliance with this demand. Without safeguards against
manipulation they lead to illegitimate budgets that place unnecessary
burdens on the citizenry.
e. Recruitment
of Casual labourers
i. The HRT
understands the policy decision making responsibilities of councillors
but has serious challenges when the same councillors are given an
administrative role.
ii. Councillors
have no business directly recruiting employees as this perpetuates
an old tradition of political appeasement. There are no clear recruitment
policies to deal with casual employment within the City of Harare.
If they have one, it has not been adequately implemented. The HRT
has witnessed some chaotic scenes when it comes to casual labour
recruitment.
iii. The HRT
demands to see a system that addresses the issue of job creation
and ethical recruitment procedures. A basic entry requirement that
guarantees eligibility to all qualified members of the community
has to be put in place; otherwise we will see a situation that perpetuates
a partisan recruitment policy. Every household that pays rates and
rentals to the City of Harare deserves to know if there are job
opportunities. Information on this should be made readily available
at District Offices.
7. Conclusion
a. Local government
has to be part of the constitution and not an Act of Parliament.
b. Local authorities
have to be decentralised to ensure that resources are equitably
distributed.
c. The District
Officers should get their powers to oversee their areas restored,
with supporting financial resources by the council.
d. The City
of Harare should prioritise service provision- refuse collection,
water and sewer infrastructure rehabilitation, purchase of maintenance
of refuse trucks and charge affordable rates before allocating more
resources towards huge salary perks to heads of departments and
administration.
e. The administration
of local authorities should be premised on good governance, accountability
and the transparent utilisation of resources.
f. Residents
of Harare as represented by the HRT want to work with their elected
representatives and service providers on a non-partisan basis.
Contact Info
0912 869 294, 0733 252 622, 0733 296 806 or email us on hretrust@yahoo.com
or hretrust79@gmail.com
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
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