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Voices from the community
Combined Harare
Residents Association (CHRA)
May 04, 2012
In this week's
edition of voices from the community, we feature an article that
was written by two members of the association on the need for local
government reform in archiving the agreed United Nations 2015 M.D.G
deadline.
2015
MDG deadline: A time to reflect on Zimbabwe's Local Government
Soon after the
Second World War in 1946, the former US president, Harry S. Truman,
urged for the developing nations of North America and Western Europe
to assist through aid in the accelerated development of the third
world countries under the Fourth Point programme which was part
of the enunciation of post-war US foreign policy.
To consolidate
and harmonize the idea of global development, the United Nations
(UN), with the participation of non-governmental institutions and
civil society organizations, developed the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) following the Millennium Summit in 2000, a raft of
development goals to be met by or in 2015 by world governments,
including in Africa.
It is important
to notice that the MDGs programme places the most conscious consolidation
of governance capacities of the underdeveloped countries at the
centre of the global trajectory for achieving development through
better service delivery, poverty reduction for the world's
poorest people that number up to several billions.
It is evident
that local government has a pertinent role to play in the achievement
of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) due to its proximity
to the ordinary global citizenry. There is factual evidence that
the urban dimension of local governance will be more central in
the coming years much more than at the present in terms of service
delivery with the growing trends of urbanization, rural to urban
migration in Asia and Africa, including in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe has
been saddled by serious challenges in terms of service delivery
because of the socio-economic and political collapse in the past
decade. This is evidenced by colossal housing backlogs and outbreaks
of pre-medieval diarrheal diseases such as cholera and typhoid that
still happen in major residential areas especially the high density
suburbs in major cities in Zimbabwe due to poor sanitation, inefficient
sewerage management, and infrequent clean water supply and incapacitated
health care facilities.
The new trends
of improvement in local governance, service delivery that have been
set by the inclusive government in Zimbabwe in the past few years
provide a real window of opportunity for affirming local governments
in terms of the MDGs deadline of 2015. It is relevant that Zimbabweans
should not miss the opportunity of strengthening local governance
through the constitution-making process, critical constitutionalisation
of local governance.
Directly, local
governance is a potential instrument that is relevant in the achievement
of some six MDGs which are: eradicating extreme poverty and hunger;
improving maternal health; promoting gender equity and empowering
women (through local governance participation); reducing child mortality
rates; combating HIV/Aids, malaria and other diseases (cholera and
typhoid); and ensuring environmental sustainability.
However, the
challenge of dysfunctional centralization of local governance that
is posed by an overbearing ministry of Local Governance in Zimbabwe,
flawed local governance Acts is too very obvious with the rampant
usurpation of the local authority and mandate of elected councilors
and mayors. Due to this politicization of important government functions
and lower levels which is endemic in the Inclusive Government, service
delivery continues to suffer major dilemmas towards the 2015 MDGs
deadline that is fast nearing.
Furthermore
in Zimbabwe, rural local governance should still continue to play
an important role because the majority of Zimbabweans reside in
rural areas where clean water, sanitation and health services are
inadequate for rural dwellers despite the growing trends of urbanization
that speed up rural to urban migration.
Above all, the
Zimbabwean citizenry should value, support and participate in the
ten-year National Population Census this year because it will give
an important impetus that ascertains the number of service recipients
to local governance planning and execution processes before the
2015 MDGs deadline if Zimbabwean authorities position the country
and Zimbabweans to benefit from that population and housing census.
Notwithstanding,
it is no secret that we really do not need to await the results
of a population counting process to know that the housing situation
is in shambles in Zimbabwe. In Harare only, the department of housing
estimates that over 500 000 people are on the housing waiting list
whilst senior government officials especially in the Ministry of
Local Government are in possession of a stand in almost each and
every town and city which then becomes a cause for concern with
the growing urban poverty as represented by widespread homelessness,
the authorities penchant for launching devastating campaigns such
as the Operation
Murambatsvina vis-a-vis the inefficacy and inequity of mitigatory
measures like Operation Garikai.
There is a public
appreciation that much of the problems have been caused by the wanton
politicization of local government in Zimbabwe.
In the same
vein, the continuous politicization of traditional leaders and rural
district administrators when distributing social aid and during
electoral periods is another notorious setback which does not only
perpetuate hunger amongst rural folks, but is also the root for
intolerance and political hatred. Notwithstanding, the fact that
traditional leaders have since left their cultural robes for partisan
politics is in direct contravention of the Traditional Leaders Act.
This blatant
lack of compliance with decent best practice has cast a dark cloud
of uncertainty for those that do not believe in the political ideology
that their traditional leaders subscribe to such that they feel
it is a waste of time for them to take part in the food for work,
grain loan scheme and other food distribution exercises that are
spear-headed by traditional leaders hence they have chosen to leave
in hunger and abject poverty rather than being bought by a few grains
of maize in return of votes.
It is pertinent
that as much as we might articulate the challenges our local government
is facing in terms of MDG attainment there is need for us to suggest
solutions to this crisis. The talk on MDGs especially at local government
level is slowly dying a natural death a situation which has given
the impetus for this submission. Zimbabwe has got the potential
to meet most of the MDGs as long as local government reform is instituted
meaningfully and fast through the policy window that is presented
by the Inclusive
Government (IG) and constitutional reform.
The process
of amending the Urban
Councils Act provides a ray of hope if it can guarantee participation
of citizens in decision making and safeguarding those chosen by
the people to represent them to ensure that they are only removed
from office by the people through democratic elections, and not
an individual. We strongly agree with the deputy Minister of Local
government when he argues that only those areas without representation
are the most affected in terms of disease outbreaks thus we cannot
rule out the difficulty of eradicating diarrheal diseases by 2015
as long as we have a one-man ministerial band firing elected councilors
as if he is playing a video game.
The constitution
making process should guarantee devolution and the constitutionalisation
of local government. This will benefit the communities we live in
because local authorities can thus benefit from the national cake.
Treasury should directly fund local authorities especially rural
district councils which are always in need for financial support.
Rural district councils currently face challenges in terms of delivering
effective health services. Child mortality and improved maternal
health care is yet to be realized in rural areas where there are
issues to do with lack of improved infrastructure and non availability
of electricity. I.C.T has not been assimilated through the equipment
being used in hospitals all because there is no sustainable funding
for these rural institutions.
However, for
long Zimbabwe has dwelt much on the mantra of inadequate finances
ignoring the issue of governance. We believe that there is a direct
nexus between local governance (at local level) and the broader
national achievement of M.D.Gs. As long as the idea of good governance
is not grasped at local level, the achievement of MDGs in this country
shall remain a pipeline dream.
The roles that
different players at local government level play should be clearly
defined in harmonized local government legislation. Political interests
have taken to the centre, and appointed officials who have now taken
over in most local authorities desperately work in such a way as
to please their political godfathers. Stories are rife for example
that in some areas, well-meaning development agencies such as NGOs
cannot hold a meeting nor do any business without a letter of approval
from the district administrator who then summons the police to sanction
that activity. As if that is not enough, provincial administrators
are now banning
NGOs in their provinces as witnessed in Masvingo! Such level of
social dissipation will definitely leave Zimbabwe in a quandary
come 2015.
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fact
sheet
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