No meaningful devolution without fiscal autonomy

The ZAPU devolution of power concept encourages provincial legislatures and national assemblies to examine new approaches of financial resource raising and allocation. Without the ability to raise financial resources provincial legislatures would be ineffective and moribund.  

What do we mean by fiscal autonomy, this entails the conferment or meaningful delegation of powers and authority to regional legislatures to raise/levy taxes on economic activities within their jurisdiction, with a view of promoting self-sufficiency and self-sustenance?  It is envisaged that this will promote competitive existence amongst the provincial legislatures which will in turn promote efficiency and competitive advantages for legislatures in certain economic areas which will then aid synergies in terms of trading amongst themselves, thereby unlocking the economic jam currently experienced in Zimbabwe.

Finance is central to the working of any government later on other levels of governance within the same democratic government. The amount of money available to provincial legislatures determines what the province can do and cannot do. Where there is no money there is no power. The financial resources must cement the devolution process. The provincial legislatures should be given power and authority to raise taxes and also determine what to spend it on.

The case for ZAPU devolution and fiscal autonomy has gathered pace and traction in the minds of many and people made it clear, during the Constitution making which was followed by the referendum, that they were ready for devolution, but sadly the ZANU PF government simply ignored their wishes when the final Constitutional document was produced, a watered down devolution of power was included in the Constitution.
The model of ZAPU devolution of power is based on the constitutional arrangement and its ability to address the long standing developmental issues by devolving political power and financial resources from central government to provincial legislatures in order to achieve equity, efficiency and accountability.

 ZAPU fiscal devolution is a positive step that has the potential to better equip provincial legislatures in meeting local demands to improve health care, education, water supplies, public amenities, roads, telecommunication, food supply, jobs, entrepreneurship, housing and energy supplies. ZAPU fiscal devolution will give provincial legislatures greater freedom and flexibility to invest in their local physical and social infrastructure.  

ZAPU devolution of power provides an effective and competitive delivery of services at grass roots and at provincial level of governance. It creates space for fiscal power and autonomy to the provincial legislature based upon key factors such as people's participation, accountability, transparency and fiscal transfer.

Provincial legislatures and local communities can decide on the forms of projects that can be undertaken using the disposable funds they hold to meet the needs identified within their locality. The projects could be area based projects, thematic projects or project specific approaches.

The area-based projects are consistent with the physical size of the province covering a potentially wide range of policy areas and service delivery programmes across the province. The thematic approach is where the provinces' emphasis is on social issues that include prevention of crime and disorder, better education, healthy, environment, provision of housing, employment creation and service delivery to the community.
Project-specific approaches are the quickest and easiest way of securing community engagement and results at regional and community level since the issues are specific to individuals in their localities in creating incentive for them to get involved in economic development projects such as starting up of businesses. In the longer term such schemes may act as a spur to greater community involvement and economic empowerment.

Fiscal transfer has an important influence on the effective functioning of democratic institutions as they provide impetus to provincial legislatures to work as self-governments on constitutional functional responsibilities vested on them. Fiscal devolution removes bureaucratic barriers associated with ZANU PF centralised government system of allocation of funds. Local communities know best how to stimulate their local economies due to availability of a wide range of revenue streams at their disposal. The provincial legislatures are able to make more of their own investment decisions without having to lobby government for handouts every time.

In the current ZANU PF centralised monetary management system, local authorities and ordinary people are paying more to the government through, heavy corporate taxes, income tax, surcharges, sales tax, toll-gates, import duty without the ZANU PF government giving back anything to the people where the financial resources came from in the first place. ZANU PF has brought Zimbabwe industry to its knees and ordinary people's living standard has plummeted; social and physical infrastructure is abhorrent and service delivery is non-existent. This is due to the patronage system in ZANU PF, its leaders and members have looted Zimbabwe of every cent there was and invested it in foreign economies not Zimbabwe. Judge for yourself the kind of people you are dealing with. They are not interested in your welfare but patriotic to their personal egos. This is why they will resist a fair system of wealth distribution proposed by ZAPU.
The financial autonomy by the provincial assembly has the advantage of making timely and prompt decisions regarding the allocation of their fiscal obligations in the provinces. When provincial assemblies have at their disposal the financial resources they can automatically deploy those resources to implement their local developmental activities and needs.  This cuts down on the bureaucracy process of having to apply for funds from central government all the time provinces have a project that needed funding.

Doing business in Zimbabwe is a nightmare. Zimbabwe's economy is paralyzed by bureaucracy, corruption and red tape caused by the policy of centralised fiscal policy by ZANU PF. ZANU PF delay, postpone or withhold making decisions on anything because of their disconnect from the local needs There is a lot of paperwork, files, registrations and processes to deal with. This makes dealing with ZANU PF officials troublesome, complex and problematic. They are arrogant, unresponsive to people's needs, insensitive, no public relations skills and make demands for bribes (cuts) to do jobs they are paid for.

The whole ZANU PF fiscal bureaucratic system is formed around rigid rules and regulations. This excessive form of rigid structures stampedes creativity and restricts growth. In all types of officialdom there is always adamant, inflexible and unaccommodating official. The budget holders such as the ministers and their ministries become the almighty and feeds in characteristics that depict the notion that says, ‘Without me there is no way'.

With the modern-world changing fast and evolving in light of new challenges, this rigidity of fiscal bureaucracy is a big problem because laborious financial decision making often characterized by ZANU PF government are significantly a slow processes; gets overtaken by economic and markets events; fails to respond quickly to the ever-changing competitive world. It cannot react to changes, social attitudes and people's needs as quickly comparable to global changes.  Zimbabwe has always legged behind because of its rigid mentality in dealing with its fiscal management and fiscal obligation.

The impact of ZANU PF fiscal bureaucratic system, the fixed rules and regulations of money management appear to be more important than the financial needs of the general Zimbabwe populace. The biggest shortcomings of ZANU PF fiscal bureaucracy is that it breeds patronage managed by unqualified personal. It makes it one of the most disliked forms of fiscal administration.

ZAPU devolution provides the devolved provinces funds from the central government as a block grant underpinned by the international accepted Bennett formula which provides them with size of the population. The formula gives the devolved provinces a proportionate share of funding on ‘comparable' functions, given their populations compared to other provinces. This means once the money is received by the devolved provincial legislature can be spent on any devolved responsibility as the provinces see fit and within the approved devolved functional responsibilities by the national legislature.

Through ZAPU devolution local people can reap the rewards through local taxation which they can reinvest in their area. ZAPU devolved provinces are granted powers to generate their own revenue say by imposing local taxes. Fiscal devolution under ZAPU means that provincial legislatures may impose local taxes, levies and duties, value-added tax, rates on property and other surcharges. The power of a provincial legislature to impose taxes, levies, and surcharges will not be exercised in a way that materially and unreasonably prejudices national economic policies, economic activities across provincial boundaries, or the nation, mobility of goods, services, capital or labour. Devolved provincial assembly fiscal independence will be regulated in terms of legislation enacted on the financial and fiscal policy considerations made by the national assembly meant for economic stability, growth and distribution.

Is it not fair for people in Manicaland, Matabeleland, Midlands, Masvingo and Mashonaland to have a guaranteed budget every year managed by them for development projects in their provinces? For how long should someone very far from your provinces continue to make decision for your province as if people from provinces lack capacity for money management? ZAPU will devolve both functional and fiscal authority to provinces to empower people to make decisions of their own development.

ZAPU fiscal devolution premised around the comprehensive ZAPU devolution of power is an incentive for social and economic growth and confidence of people participation that is confined to the overall decision making of local communities.

Think ZAPU devolution. That is the only form democratic government that there for Zimbabwe right now.