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It's not the MDC-T councilors, it's the system
Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA)
December 08, 2012

When local authorities fail to supply water to the community, its MDC-T councilors and when there is an outbreak of Typhoid or Cholera it only has to be MDC-T elected council. This mantra has been going on for long and it has become organizational culture that people tend to turn a blind eye in terms of the holistic approach to the current real issues and challenges that Zimbabwe's local government framework is embedded upon. It's unfortunate that some people willingly choose to tell a different story of how things are operating at our beloved Town House and end up singing from a different hymn-book all together which then culminates into a choral discord at the expense of transparency and accountability.

The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) would like to make it categorically clear that the current crop of councilors might not be the best that is duly fit for public office as a councilor given the conditions on the environment with which they got elected into council but it is by and large unfair that we symmetrically blame them for the rot and ineffectiveness of the local authorities Zimbabwe. The former has been inspired by a number of events which have unfolded over time but still return a ripple effect with some of the consequences still being felt to date. To that end it is important to unearth some of the things that this association feels need to be discussed then at the end we then have to make a holistic conclusion on who is blame for the rot in our Council.

2003-2008: This era witnessed the expulsion of the Mudzuri led council which then was replaced by the Makwavarara led commission. The performance of the commission was fell far below the expected standards which had been set by the Mudzuri led Council. There was totally no accountability and transparency save for massive looting of council resources vis-Ã -vis erratic service delivery. Coupled by the hand over takeover of water delivery by ZINWA, these two institutions presided over the deterioration of water infrastructure without making an effort either to replace or maintain. This then culminated into serious acute shortage of water in the City which was far worse than we currently face subsequently mutating into a cholera outbreak which then saw the deaths of more than 4000 people.

Operation Murambatsvina: A state sanctioned rowdy clean up exercise saw the displacement of thousands of people living them homeless. This exercise was followed by operation Hlalani Kuhle which was bent on relocating victims of the operation which unfortunately got hijacked by proponents of corruption who then decided to up their number of houses and stands on their assert registers. This inspired an increase in the number of homeless people who continue to haunt the housing backlog of council as of today. This means that we become subjective to this notion whenever we try to measure the housing delivery service performance of council against this background.

Dismissal of elected councilors: The 2008 Cholera outbreak was rampant in all cities (e.g. Harare, Mutare, Chegutu and Chitungwiza) that were being run under the auspices of appointed commissions with no people mandate. What this meant was a mere confirmation that the concept of participation is always panacea to the erratic provision of rudimentary services. To date Glen-View, Budiriro, Highfields and Dzivarasekwa have been hit by an acute Typhoid outbreak which has seen the deaths of 5 people. However in these areas the people who represent these communities in council have either been incarcerated or dismissed by the Minister of Local government. In Glen-View and Budiriro, Councilors Tungamirai Madzokere and Sydney Chirombe are serving as political prisoners and in highfields and Dzivarasekwa which has been the epicenter of the Typhoid outbreak, we have witnessed Councilors Silas Machetu, Johnson Zaranyika and Maxwell Katsande being suspended by the same Minister as well. This leaves a vacuum which contains a serious governance disconnect between residents and the local authority.

The case of the Municipality versus the Local authority: In recent times, we have seen council engaging in some demeaning activities which act in direct contravention to the principles of humanity and yet we have always wanted to blame the same councilors. Two examples will suffice to validate this point:

1) Property attachments

2) Water disconnections

There are two standing full council resolutions which speak to the former the first one being that there should never be any act of attaching peoples properties on whatever basis and secondly the one which goes against water disconnections. However, in light of the former we come to a conclusion that there is a serious discord between Councilors who are the policy makers (local authority) and the technocrats who are responsible for policy implementation (Municipality). One might ask what stops Harare city council from reigning in on all errant city officials.

The challenges that militate against policy makers from stamping in their authority is premised on a number of multi-faceted issues ranging from the legislative framework and the political environment with which they operate under. For instance, currently Zimbabwe's local authorities are comprised of ceremonial policy makers who are generaly powerless to make such long standing decisions.

Failed Local Government Legislation: the legislation just needs to be repealed and ensure the harmonization of the broader acts which include the Urban Councils Act, Rural District Councils Act, the regional Town and Country Planning Act and The traditional Leaders Act. These acts have seen the emergence of too much central government in local governments. Decisions are virtually based on Ministerial discretion rather than the traditional bottom up approach (where councilors are located).

The Local Government we Want

Powers and functions of local governments

There should be certainty as regards the powers and functions of Local governments (LGs) flowing from the principal enabling statute. Such powers and functions should be clearly classified into mandatory functions and permissive functions. Further, the principal legislation should seek to develop partnerships in governance among the various institutions that are involved, namely, central government, provincial government, and LGs. These partners need to recognize each other's existence and complement each other in the performance of governance functions, without undue interference in each other's domain. While central government can still retain its powers to supervise LGs, the central government function should emphasize powers to build capacity and set policy direction within a co-operative framework where citizens take a distinct part. This goes to demonstrate that the development of legislation foresees non-performance by councils, and immediately provides a remedy in the form of powers to act directly, and not to compel the council to perform.

Setting up a Local Government Commission

The view of the Association is that powers should be vested in a Local Government Commission, and not in the Minister. Such a Local Government Commission will have broad oversight powers over local authorities to ensure that the latter discharge their constitutional and statutory mandate properly. Among other things, such a Local Government Commission should play a role in capacitating the councils and compel them to perform, as opposed to the current situation where the Minister can execute work on behalf of the councils and hand them a bill to pay.

Ensuring adequate revenue resources for local governments

The sources of revenue for the performance of functions and responsibilities bestowed on LGs are very limited. A number of the functions, roles and obligations imposed on local governments are only partially funded or there are no clear funding sources at all.

For instance, in terms of sections 45 and 46 of the Public Health Act, local authorities can be refunded for expenses incurred in the operation of epidemic emergencies and the quarantine of those affected, up to two-thirds of the net costs. It is not clear where the balance should come from. The assumption is that the balance comes from reserve funds of the LG.

In conclusion, the argument premised on the need to have competent and learned councilors returns its full merit. However, the argument of non performance of local authorities remains one that is subjective to the issues raised above and as an Association we do not seek to serve and protect councilors, but unravel the issues that surround them/us in our day to day work as we strive to bring about the realization of a local government model characterized by accountability, transparency and efficiency.

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