Ward 3 councillor for Hwange Rural District Council, Givemeagain Moyo, has called on the government to give local authorities greater control over natural resources, arguing that districts such as Hwange have the potential to fund their own development projects without relying heavily on central government allocations.
Speaking on the sidelines of a local governance conference held in Bulawayo, Moyo said rural district councils continued to face challenges implementing development programmes because of delays and inconsistencies in the disbursement of devolution funds.
The conference was organised by the Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association in partnership with the Southern Western Region Gender Network (SWRGN), Community Youth Development Trust (CYDT), Youth Invest and the Public Policy and Research Institute of Zimbabwe (PPRIZ) under the theme: “Reimagining NDS2 Legal Frameworks for Devolution.”
Zimbabwe’s devolution programme, introduced under the 2013 Constitution, provides for the transfer of funds from central government to provincial councils and local authorities to support local development projects.
Sections 264 and 301 of the Constitution state that at least five percent of nationally collected revenue should be allocated annually to provinces and local authorities.
The programme is intended to bring development closer to communities, improve service delivery and allow local authorities to determine their own development priorities.
Moyo said Hwange Rural District Council had struggled to carry out projects because devolution funds were often disbursed late or only partially released.
“We have a challenge as a Rural District Council. When we are talking about devolution, as a Rural District Council, we can do our projects using what we already have. The mines within our district can actually provide the financial resources needed for us to do our job without relying on money coming from central government,” he said.
“Though the central government is assisting us with devolution funds, of late they are either disbursed late or not fully released. Only a portion of the allocated funds is being disbursed.”
Moyo said Hwange Rural District Council last received devolution funds in 2023.
“We last got devolution funds in 2023 and this is now the third year without receiving devolution funds as Hwange Rural District Council,” he said.
He argued that Hwange District was rich in natural resources and tourism potential but local authorities were unable to fully benefit because of legal and administrative restrictions.
“We are saying why can’t government allow us, or give us the keys, to unlock the natural resources that we have in our district. We are a rich district on paper, geographically, in terms of the mines that we have and the tourism that we have, but somehow we are limited and controlled,” said Moyo.
He also criticised provisions of the Mines and Minerals Act, saying the law concentrated too much authority at national level while local authorities struggled to recover revenue owed by mining companies.
“The Mines and Minerals Act has given the President powers to control the mines, yet the mines owe council significant amounts of money. If we could collect that revenue, we would be able to develop our district better than any other district in the country,” he said.
The conference focused on strengthening legal and policy frameworks to support Zimbabwe’s devolution agenda under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).
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