Elite groups pushing for devolution of power

The debate on devolution is not being raised by people from communities but by an elite group that includes civic organisations.

In separate interviews conducted by the Daily News, commentators felt that politicians were upping the debate, pretending it was coming from communities whereas they were pushing their own agendas.

There have been sharp differences between President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's preferred choices over devolution.

While Mugabe has been against its inclusion in the upcoming constitution, Tsvangirai has embraced it.

Playwright Cont Mhlanga said while he has been in the countryside on several community outreaches, he has never heard villagers talking about devolution.

"It is not the people talking about devolution, but civic organisations. The people in communities are talking about service delivery and nothing else. It is just an administrative issue blown by politicians who want to gain mileage from the devolution issue," said Mhlanga.

The playwright said what people are advocating for is to obtain public documents without any hurdles.

"The people in Tsholotsho want to get birth certificates and passports from within their reach. They do not have to travel to Harare to 'Room 205' to obtain a birth certificate, which is their right. And when they get to Harare they are not served within a day and have to look for accommodation and food while they wait for documents."

Mhlanga said at the end of the day taking a birth certificate or national identity card has become an expensive exercise.

"The issue is not about dividing the country and have Matabeleland operating on its own. People here have never called for that and even if they called for it, that will not wash away the problems affecting service delivery."

The playwright said people in communities were actually asking for small things to be done for them without having to travel.

"The best way is to decentralise because these are simply small administrative issues at hand. People are tired of travelling to big cities where they are harassed over legitimate documents."

He said politicians were cashing on a lack of clarity concerning devolution and were trying to mislead people that those calling for service delivery wanted to divide the country into half.

"They have realised that Matabeleland is the king maker in the Zimbabwean political game and are fronting devolution as the region's hotbed. It is all lies."

Harare Residents Trust, HRT coordinator Precious Shumba said it is mostly elitists who are at the forefront of raising this issue, in a mostly partisan manner, designed to wrest power from a seemingly powerful elite stationed in Harare.

"Ordinary people are not at the forefront of raising this issue but informed leaders from the respective regions who feel that they could probably strike a balance of power in the national development matrix.

"It would be ideal if this is pushed through by villagers and ordinary residents so that they can use their numbers to force change if they so desire it."

He added that some politicians are also using the devolution issue, not in the public interest but to gain political mileage.

Shumba said devolution is mainly associated with Matabeleland, the Midlands and Masvingo Regions because they experience constant droughts and marginalisation when it comes to natural resources utilisation and development of their local areas.

He said what communities want is to realise tangible development at local level, where they contribute towards project identification, define its implementation and what changes they expect to see in their lives.

"The devolution discussion is mainly driven by a desire to control resources and own decisions by communities within their local communities, as part of their contribution to national development."

Shumba said communities also want a say on how resources from their area are distributed for their own benefit.

"This is a widely used concept, but in Zimbabwe it will take time to be really appreciated by all stakeholders because of the outstanding issues to do with the Gukurahundi massacres in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces, giving rise to speculation that it is a regional lobby designed to balance the present development challenges to past human rights violations and national development focus, which is believed to be skewed in favour of the capital," he added.

Journalist Thomas Deve said devolution is meant to give power and authority to local government players.

"It creates accountable systems and measures where citizens are not referred to some powerful executive
authorities normally residing in the capital and deriving their power from directly interacting with the country's head of state," said Deve.

He said the resistance to promote devolution as articulated by some voices and interest groups from the southern part of Zimbabwe, arises from the demands put across for a federal state and at times calls for complete separation which makes it sound like irredentist tendencies which threaten the current understanding of a unitary state.

"But in reality, devolution will not destroy the sovereign state of Zimbabwe. It will strengthen lower level centres of decision-making and governance of resources that places more emphasis on maximising benefits for local communities," he said.

Political and social commentator, Davison Gomo said politics is about how people wish to govern themselves and it is motivated by the desire to create conditions that allow people to participate in decisions that affect their lives.

"Devolution can take place at national level as well as at local government level. The most recent examples are the devolution of power in Scotland and Wales. For many years, the Scottish and Welsh people had most of the decisions that affect their lives made at Westminster and with time, most felt that they were not adequately represented thus leaving most of the issues that they felt to be important to them on the periphery."

"Naturally, they made a case for devolution, that is, the right to make decisions that reflected local conditions and needs," said Gomo.

He said accordingly, devolution becomes an instrument or strategy of dispersion of power to allow citizens to have a say on matters concerning their development and of course giving them sufficient budgets to address issues that require attention in the context of socio-economic development.

"Devolution allows the beneficiaries of this strategy to engage in planning through a political and economic framework for local decisions that promote the voice of citizenry in policy matters and delivery of service," said Gomo.

He said there is often fear that devolution of power may lead to the centre losing control, but thus far from the truth as national government controls the overall strategic functions and decision-making leaving the regions to deal with issues moist immediate to their environment.

"If carefully planned and implemented, devolution creates a very advanced form of democracy as it allows for a bottom-up approach that in most cases should enhance the quality of governance and delivery of service to the people," he said.