Councillors face mammoth task to be re-elected

Calvin Manika

Hwange councillors seeking re-election have it all to do amidst residents’ complaints that they failed to improve service delivery during their five-year tenure.

Residents of Hwange who spoke to Community Podium deplored the quality of services, claiming that their councillors have failed to uphold local governance tenants and to promote local development. Councillors in the coal mining town are politicians from various political parties who were chosen to serve as local authority representatives, in contrast to the Hwange Local Board (HLB) employees. 

“We elected these individuals into office in 2018 with high hopes that conditions and services would improve and our wards would improve. The bulk of the councillors have been ineffective, only a few did quite well. However, the incompetent councillors are running for re-election, so we must make wise choices,” said resident Patrick Nxumalo.

Zimbabwe’s main political parties have started preparing for the country’s general elections to be held later this year as they hold rallies and campaign activities in cities and towns to whip up their bases.

Although the actual date of the election has not yet been made public, the general expectation as dictated by the delimitlppation report is that it will take place in August. On July 31, 2018, the election for 2018 was held.

“Soon after securing their 2018 victories, the majority of Hwange’s elected leaders relaxed and broke their promises and commitments. It is only now that they are waking up from their sleep, a few months before elections. They are under increasing political pressure as they run for re-election,” said an Empumalanga resident who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The resident said politicians are motivated to respond to voters’ choices for policies by their desire to get re-elected. According to conventional wisdom, voters select politicians based on their ability to produce favourable results, such as policies  are in line with their ideologies, a thriving econom0ppy, or local growth. Nxumalo said people care about procedural fairness and, in particular, impartial decision-makers who make decisions free from personal incentives and interests in addition to outcomes.

“Despite unsuccessful development outcomes, there are other activities taking place inside our wards, and we examine the method we utilised to ensure justice and inclusion. We take these things into account when we make decisions,” added Nxumalo.

Zanu-PF, which has been in power since the country’s independence in 1980, and the opposition Citizens Coalition For Change (CCC), which was established in January 2022, are the two main political parties going toe to toe in the upcoming elections. Some of the long-serving politicians ran for re-election in the ZANU-PF primary elections and the CCC candidate selection process which is still ongoing. In many cases, the incumbents in Hwange have been chosen or nominated to represent the parties. If they advance to the final round, like in the case of CCC, they will run for office.

Speaking to Community Podium, Greater Whange Residents Trust Coordinator Fidelis Chima said 15 councillors seek re-election.

“We are pleased that, with the exception of Cllr. Mumpande, who has served for more than 20 years, none of the council members who have served for more than two terms are running for re-election. We should put more emphasis on competence to carry out their mandate than fresh faces, and as an institution, we are not really impressed by the bulk of prospective council members,” said Chima.

The Community Podium noted that when political actions are said to be driven by re-election considerations, the electorate is substantially less likely to trust, vote for, and support those officials’ programs than when no such reason is present.

According to political experts, a representative voter chooses from a variety of candidates with known policy preferences during each time. When in power, the elected candidate chooses which policies to enact and how much rent-seeking to engage in. 

An expert on local administration, Trust Munorwei said, politicians must present voters with favourable policy outcomes while avoiding making it seem as though they are doing so out of a personal desire to increase their chances of winning re-election.

“I research elections between citizen-candidates who aren’t able to commit to specific policies before gaining office but are nevertheless held accountable to the public because they could be re-elected. Most politicians’ priorities are to win re-election rather than genuinely focusing on development and policy issues,” Munorwei lamented.

As the parties get ready for the watershed harmonised elections, electoral accountability in Zimbabwe has recently received increased attention. Some civic society organizations are assisting in the integration of components of electoral competition and electoral accountability as the voter chooses  which candidate to elect. 

“Private information includes political aptitude, which is disclosed by the incumbent during her first term in office. We demonstrate that incumbents with high market ability are more inclined to forego re-election following an unexpected fall in the returns from holding office than their lower-ability counterparts,” added Munorwei.

Experts claim the problem extends beyond local governments and even to the house of assembly, noting that the abilities needed for nomination and re-election are distinct from those needed to pass legislation. Legislators who are successful in the legislature and those who are electable can be distinguished by their skill sets. Politicians in Hwange, according to the Greater Whange Resident Trust, appear to be competing for personal gains.

“It appears there is a rush by our aspiring councillors to also join the gravy train to accumulate stands by any means necessary. Hwange is facing water challenges, lack of transparency on council finances, lack of residents’ participation in council processes etc. It is not about changing faces but the culture and calibre of councillors,” said Chima