Source: Provincial and Metropolitan Councils on the horizon – herald
Herald Reporters
The Government is set to fully implement Zimbabwe’s long-awaited devolution and decentralisation programme by establishing Provincial and Metropolitan Councils in the coming months.
This move is poised to transform governance structures, enhance service delivery and improve development planning at the provincial and metropolitan levels, marking a huge step in how public affairs will be managed across the country.
According to the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), the long-standing delay in operationalising devolution was largely caused by the absence of an enabling legal framework, particularly the failure to promulgate a Devolution Act to give effect to provisions of the Constitution.
During the NDS1 period, the lack of aligned legislation and regulatory instruments meant Provincial and Metropolitan Councils could not be fully established, leaving a critical gap in the country’s decentralisation agenda and weakening efforts to promote balanced regional development.
“The outstanding legal statutes and non-alignment of devolution and decentralisation statutes to the Constitution of Zimbabwe have resulted in the delayed establishment of Provincial and Metropolitan Councils,” reads the document.
“The Provincial and Metropolitan Councils are necessary to overseeing and guiding provincial development and, hence, remain a critical missing link towards efficient and effective implementation of the devolution and decentralisation agenda.”
Under NDS2, Government has committed to fast-tracking the enactment of the Devolution Act, which will clearly define the roles, powers, responsibilities and fiscal relationships between central Government, Provincial and Metropolitan Councils and local authorities.
The Constitution provides for a three-tier system of governance, comprising national Government, Provincial and Metropolitan Councils as the second tier, and local authorities as the third tier.
Chapter 14 of the Constitution outlines the framework for devolution, including the empowerment of provinces to manage their own development priorities in a participatory, transparent and accountable manner.
“NDS2 will prioritise the promulgation of the Devolution Act to operationalise the Provincial and Metropolitan Councils,” reads Government’s medium-term plan.
“This will also articulate the roles, powers and the fiscal relationships between different tiers of Government.
“The enactment of the Devolution Act will be an important tool towards the promotion of a decentralised governance system for the efficient implementation of the devolution and decentralisation agenda, promotion of a decentralised governance system, as well as enhancing service delivery.”
Once operationalised, Provincial and Metropolitan Councils will function as legislative bodies at provincial level, similar to Parliament at national level.
They will provide policy oversight, set development standards and serve as a mechanism for checks and balances within provincial governance structures.
“In consistency with section 265(2) of the Constitution, Government will put in place an Act of Parliament providing for the establishment, structure and staff of Provincial and Metropolitan Councils, and the manner in which they should exercise their functions,” reads the NDS2.
“The said statute will comprehensively outline the form and structure of a devolved governance system which is peculiar to Zimbabwe, a devolved system that protects and preserves the tenets of the Constitution, with particular reference to Zimbabwe being a Unitary State.
“Due care will be taken in allotting devolved functions, in keeping with the principles of the Constitution, while at the same time ensuring that there is clarity as to who does what, when and how, leaving no room for duplicity of roles and functions.
“Appropriate linkages would, thus, be provided, showing the vertical and horizontal relationships between institutions in the different tiers of Government.”
The new legislation will identify specific powers and functions which can be devolved and when they should be devolved.
Each council will be supported by a secretariat headed by a Clerk of Council, while the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution will serve as the executive authority at provincial level and report to Parliament on devolved functions.
“The Provincial and Metropolitan Councils will act as the legislature at provincial level, just as the National Assembly and Senate do at national level.
“They will, therefore, provide broad policy oversight in their respective provinces.
“They should set standards and enforce the meeting of the standards.
“The Council will be accountable and report to the Minister of Provincial Affairs and Devolution.”
The councils will coordinate development planning, oversee service delivery and monitor the implementation of Government programmes within their jurisdictions.
They will work alongside committees comprising heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies operating at provincial level to ensure coherence and efficiency in Government operations.
NDS2 outlines that priority devolved functions will include spatial planning, provincial economic development, education management, tourism promotion, roads and infrastructure maintenance, environmental management, agriculture, liquor licensing, community development and cultural affairs.
Additional responsibilities will be devolved progressively, subject to the demonstrated capacity of provinces.
Crucially, the executive arm at provincial level will be led by the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, who will chair a committee of all provincial heads of ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
This committee will be accountable to the Provincial Council, creating a system of checks and balances previously absent in Zimbabwe’s highly centralised governance model.
To avoid role duplication and conflict, the Devolution Act will clearly delineate the relationship between Ministers of State and Council Chairpersons; the role of Members of Parliament in council proceedings; and the supervisory mandate of the Minister of Local Government over local authorities
A key pillar of the devolution agenda is fiscal decentralisation.
Section 301 of the Constitution mandates that not less than five percent of national revenue raised in any financial year must be allocated to provinces and local authorities.
However, this threshold was not consistently met during NDS1, severely limiting the effectiveness of devolution.
To address this, Government has pledged that during NDS2 it will fully comply with the constitutional requirement on fiscal transfers.
Provinces and local authorities will be required to submit detailed budgets and project plans upfront to Treasury for inclusion in the National Budget.
Government will also amend key statutes, including the Provincial Councils and Administration Act, the Urban Councils Act, and the Rural District Councils Act, to align them with constitutional provisions on devolution and clarify the distribution of powers across the three tiers of Government.
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