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Zapu frets govt will cheat in devolution
17 Dec 2018 at 02:51hrs | Views
Opposition party Zapu led by Dumiso Dabengwa fears that Zanu PF government will keep power rooted in central governance against the spirit of decentralization wanted by citizens.
Zapu secretary for policy and strategy, Sakhile Sibanda said devolution of power to the provinces has been the flagship policy of her party for a long time and the party recognises and acknowledges the vast contribution of all who pushed for the principle of devolved governance.
"The results of the Constitutional Parliamentary committee (COPAC) public consultation confirmed the popularity of devolution. The inclusion of Devolution in the 2013 Constitution Chapter 14 gave many people hope of transferring power from the centralised and corrupt system of government to the people to manage their own affairs in their localities," she said.
She said after five years of Zanu PF government's dithering and even threats to scrap devolution provision by amending the constitution, President Emmerson Mnangagwa took advantage of devolution sentiments in his 2018 election campaign trail promising to enact legislation to establish and operationalise Constitutional provisions if he won the elections.
"Mnangagwa's government is quickly moving to fulfill their promise by introducing the Devolution Bill in Parliament. There has been mixed reactions to the Bill and confusion about the final shape of the proposed devolution," she said in a statement.
"The public seems to be taken in by the rhetoric of "Power to the People" and the dream of having communities take control over their local affairs and resources."
She said there is no doubt that the Bill will sail through Parliament without much scrutiny as the parties in Parliament were the crafters of the constitutional provision that is being aligned.
Zapu secretary for policy and strategy, Sakhile Sibanda said devolution of power to the provinces has been the flagship policy of her party for a long time and the party recognises and acknowledges the vast contribution of all who pushed for the principle of devolved governance.
"The results of the Constitutional Parliamentary committee (COPAC) public consultation confirmed the popularity of devolution. The inclusion of Devolution in the 2013 Constitution Chapter 14 gave many people hope of transferring power from the centralised and corrupt system of government to the people to manage their own affairs in their localities," she said.
She said after five years of Zanu PF government's dithering and even threats to scrap devolution provision by amending the constitution, President Emmerson Mnangagwa took advantage of devolution sentiments in his 2018 election campaign trail promising to enact legislation to establish and operationalise Constitutional provisions if he won the elections.
"Mnangagwa's government is quickly moving to fulfill their promise by introducing the Devolution Bill in Parliament. There has been mixed reactions to the Bill and confusion about the final shape of the proposed devolution," she said in a statement.
"The public seems to be taken in by the rhetoric of "Power to the People" and the dream of having communities take control over their local affairs and resources."
She said there is no doubt that the Bill will sail through Parliament without much scrutiny as the parties in Parliament were the crafters of the constitutional provision that is being aligned.
Source - Byo24News
