IN the last article I argued that the government should prioritise the enactment of an enabling Act to actualise the concept of devolution of power.
This will be a tall order seeing that the legislature is burdened with hundreds of pieces of legislation that need to be aligned to the Constitution. In this installment I would like to argue that the concept of devolution of power will not work if the enabling Act does not give provincial and metropolitan councils teeth to operate in a devolved dispensation.
The same goes to the third tier of the government, namely local government, which is as an indispensable sphere of governance.
- New Bill imperative
It is absolutely imperative for the Provincial Councils and Metropolitan Act to be enacted this year otherwise the whole concept of devolution will remain a political and constitutional mirage. According to the Constitution (section 273) the Act should address among other things the following imperatives:
- The procedures of metropolitan and provincial councils.
- The functions of chairpersons of provincial and metropolitan councils. This is critical in view of President Robert Mugabe’s appointment of 10 provincial affairs ministers possibly resulting in duplication of functions and roles at best and at worst total unmitigated organised confusion.
- The conditions of service of members of metropolitan and provincial councils,
- The appointment and removal of employees of provincial and metropolitan councils.
Importantly section 270 of the Constitution articulates the desirability of an Act of Parliament which shall provide for the manner in which provincial and metropolitan councils carry out their functions. Critically the Constitution also states that the provincial councils are accountable to the residents of their respective provinces and the new Act should clearly define accountability parameters for these councils so that they remain accountable first and foremost to the people that they serve and not their political parties.
- Functions of provincial and metropolitan councils
For the benefit of doubt there shall be two metropolitan councils namely Bulawayo and Harare both headed by the respective mayors of the two cities and eight provincial councils. Provincial councils according to the Constitution are supposed to consist of all members of the National Assembly for the province, senators from the province, the two senator chiefs, 10 people elected by a system of proportional representation, the mayors and chairpersons of all rural or urban councils in that area.
Metropolitan and provincial councils should have the following functions which should be clearly stated in the enabling Act of parliament :
- Administrative and coordinative functions,
- Legislative and decision making functions,
- Executive functions.
According to the Constitution the metropolitan and provincial councils are responsible for the socioeconomic development of their respective provinces which in reality translates to a broader agenda of formulating provincial level legislation which should enable people to manage their own resources, ensure equitable distribution of resources and transfer of responsibilities from national government in order to establish a sound financial base (section 264).
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In order for all these things to happen provincial and metropolitan councils should have legislative power to express this reality. The new Act should thus make this a practical reality by removing this responsibility from central government line ministries and placing it on the new metropolitan and provincial structures.
- Secretariat
Contrary to popular belief bureaucrats more often than not are the people who carry out the business of the government and at times literally run the government while politicians mainly play legislative functions. Without effective and mobile provincial and metropolitan secretariat structures the whole concept of devolution will collapse because it is at this level that decisions are made and the wheels of developmental governance begin to work.
This may be complicated because there are already existing provincial structures and offices such as the office of the Provincial administrator so it remains to be seen whether these will be incorporated into the new order or gradually replaced because sudden changes may result in shock instead of shock therapy.
Come what may the bill on Provincial and metropolitan councils must address the issue of transferring responsibilities and resources from national government to the provinces and local authorities as eloquently stated in section 264 (2) paragraph of the new constitution.
The provincial councils Bill will be the legs and arms of devolution of power without which power will not go to the people.
Mayibuye ! Dumisani Nkomo is a political commentator and chief executive officer of the Habakkuk Trust. He writes in his personal capacity
