With President Emmerson Mnangagwa expected to announce the 2023 national election dates shortly, ZAPU has urged the government to accelerate the Devolution Bill, which is currently stalled in the Attorney General (AG)’s office due to a lack of manpower to complete it.
In light of the fact that the Devolution Bill has not yet been tabled in Parliament, ZAPU National Organiser, Ndodana Moyo, urged Mnangagwa’s administration to stop making false promises about when the government will pass it.
Moyo’s comments are in response to statements made by Minister of Justice, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs, Ziyambi Ziyambi, who on Wednesday claimed that the Devolution Bill will shortly be passed before the current Parliament is dissolved.
In an interview with CITE, the national organiser stated that the justice minister was correct in stating Zimbabweans cannot hold a third election this year without settling devolution, but questioned why the processes were taking so long.
“Surely if it is important legislation, why are they not capacitating the AG’s office to complete the work? First, you hear they are short-staffed, and now we hear devolution has not gone through all processes, which is which? Councillors did not discharge their duties in 2013 until another election cycle arrived in 2018, and now, with their false promises, 2023 will come and go. Don’t they get tired of making promises?” Moyo said.
The justice minister had said that the Devolution Bill has not passed all the processes and once parliamentary processes start, the views of all the stakeholders would be taken into consideration.
Moyo claimed the government’s “never ending promises” reveals how President Mnangagwa’s administration is insincere with passing Devolution yet it is a constitutional requirement.
“These are crooks. As ZAPU we advocated strongly for devolution and it has been one of rallying points ever since because as a party that cares for people, we had the foresight to see that provinces need to run themselves for them to be efficient. Even with the devolution funds that are disbursed by Finance, they are not making a difference as they are not guided by law. If authorities abuse them what law can be used to hold them to account,” posed the national organiser.
“Ziyambi must not tell people to be patient, How long is patient? This is the same attitude the government shows when it comes to other serious issues such as returning the ZPRA properties back to its owners who are suffering in poverty.”
