'Zimbabwe will remain unitary State'

Published: 24 July 2018

ZIMBABWE started the process of devolution by giving local authorities their own jurisdiction and has approved delegated devolution to provinces through the provincial councils, a Cabinet Minister has said.

Addressing mayors, town clerks, and invited guests during the official opening of the Gokwe town council $900 000 state-of-the-art town house yesterday, the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, July Moyo, said the country will however remain a unitary State.

"Please listen to me town clerks, mayors and the people of Gokwe gathered here today, when we talk about devolution, we start by saying Zimbabwe shall remain a unitary State. It is one indispensable State, we are one but we allow people wherever they are settled to have powers over themselves," he said.

Added Moyo, "First we started the process of devolution when we gave powers to urban authorities first by giving them a legal status, that is the power enshrined in the Constitution and enabling Act in the case of rural district councils to have control of the land they have."

He said the second process towards devolution was giving the local authorities the powers of taxation over the people in their jurisdiction.

"Local authorities have the right to tax anyone for land and development. Paying for land is done to the local authorities and not central Government.

"This is financial autonomy for taxation and the income they have is taxed by the central Government.

"The local authorities tax property and central Government taxes income and that is the devolution that President Mnangagwa has been talking about. It is enshrined in the Constitution and not just mere talk," said Moyo.

Moyo said local authorities, have the powers to hire and fire their work force, propose budgets, raise their own revenue, but at the end of the day they are accountable to the central Government since Zimbabwe is a unitary State.

He said the central Government had overall control of all the local authorities so that there is uniformity in laws and taxation for continued socio-development of the country.

Moyo said the next line of devolution was through the establishment of provincial councils.

"President Mnangagwa goes further saying devolution is now taking place in the provinces, but this type of devolution is different from local authorities which have full devolution.

"For provinces, we have the Minister of State or the provincial council, and they can't do taxation.

"They are given powers by the central Government and President Mnangagwa is saying the powers we are giving them are to do with the development of those individual provinces," he said.

Moyo said Ministers of State in for example Midlands or Matabeleland South are supposed to make sure that the wealth in their provinces be it minerals or wildlife is tapped into for the socio-economic development of their provinces.

"Ministers of State represent the President, are in charge of coordination of programmes in those provinces and they are supposed to make sure that for example councils like Gokwe town realise their potential from the resources they have. That is the delegated devolution given to provinces," he said.

Moyo said local authorities, the provincial administrators and the Ministers of State should work in liaison for the development of their areas, the provinces and country at large.
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