Hwange Local Board found wanting on transparency and residents’ participation

Calvin Manika

Mavis Mathe (38), a resident in the old suburb of Empumalanga, claims she cannot recall a time when the local board provided residents with monthly or quarterly reports. Even though she pays her monthly fees, she is uninformed as to how the council is using them in her ward.

“It is weird to think that we have a council that collects rates but does not wish to give people reports on the revenue and expenses of the rates or other updates on local board developments. Accountability is what we want, not this game of hide and seek,” said Mathe.

However, Mathe expressed her optimism that the public will vote for people centred councillors. 

Residents in Hwange have been grumbling about the local board’s subpar service delivery. Some of these complaints relate to the unavailability of water in some locations, to the collection and disposal of solid waste, and lack of transparency.

The constitutional conferment of managerial and governance powers on urban local authorities is sacrosanct as it is premised on the will of the people who in a participatory manner elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf pertaining to their social welfare and general affairs in their locality.

Trust Munorwei, a local governance expert, emphasized the significance of identifying the instruments and procedures utilised by municipalities and determining if openness and accountability are present among local boards and municipalities. Munorwei said that the Hwange Local Board must post notices and advertisements on the internet and social media.

“Many local authorities do not employ other tools, such as Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys (PETS), Citizen Report Cards (CRD), Waste Disposal Reports, and Community Property Reports tools. In surveys that we conducted in various areas, not more than 80% of respondents claim to have sufficient awareness of how municipalities function. Residents believe that the reasons why citizens were unaware of what was going on and the rationale behind some decisions were also due to a lack of accountability and transparency,” explained Munorwei.

The Urban Councils’ Act in Zimbabwe gives local boards and urban municipalities authority. Town Planning Act (1976), Healthy and Safety Act, Environmental Act, Zimbabwe Manpower Training and Development Act, Labour Relations Act, Road Traffic Act, Education Act, Statutory Instrument (S.I) 66 and 390 of 1992, by-laws, and environmental management are additional laws that make it easier for local boards to conduct their business. Utilizing the rules that are a fundamental component of the national legislation or laws is essential to the efficient operation of urban authorities.

“Those enactments must complement the town’s overall operations, in this case Hwange, to the benefit of stakeholders, but most of the local boards in Zimbabwe’s cities are failing to provide good service to the people,” said Munorwei.

According to the Greater Whange Residents Trust, council should have monthly full council board meetings and create reports that are available to residents and ratepayers on a regular basis.

“There should be audited financial reports also accessible to the residents and rate payers. Performance based contracts should be accessible by residents and rate payers. This is not happening and residents are being short changed in the process,” said Fidelis Chima of Greater Whange Residents Trust, c

According to Section 274 of the Urban Council Act, local governments in urban areas in Zimbabwe are responsible for representing and overseeing residents’ affairs. Urban local authorities are governed by councils made up of council members chosen by registered voters in the relevant urban districts, and these councils are led by elected mayors or chairs, as the case may be. A local authority has the right and the authority to control the local affairs of the people living in its jurisdiction, subject to the Constitution and any Act of Parliament, according to Section 276 of the Constitution, which expands the powers. 

“The aforementioned Constitutional provisions affirm the authority of urban local authorities to govern the affairs of the populace in urban areas in a representative capacity. This implies that the people’s issues are managed by the elected officials,” continued Munorwei.

Local governments have complete authority to manage their business and decide what is in the interests of local communities, which in turn feeds into the public and national interest, therefore the need for them to carry out their duties effectively and efficiently. Mandla Sibanda, a local said citizens must be made aware of the fundamental duties and powers of local governments as well as the fundamental components of the local budget process in order for them to actively engage in local governance.

“First and foremost, we must choose informed candidates who will attend to our requirements and uphold our constitutional rights, such as receiving monthly reports and being aware of the resolutions passed. Thank goodness elections will resolve that this year,” said Sibanda.

Due to the creation of eight new concession wards as a result of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No. 19, Hwange Local Board differs from other councils. The eight wards under the Hwange Colliery Concession were asked to come under the control of Hwange Council. The meagre funds generated by the seven wards under the control of the Hwange Local Board are used to pay the councillors from the eight concessions.

“This is a fascinating topic that we have discussed for years, but without financial reports, we cannot take a position that is well-informed. As ratepayers, we must know and account for every cent because this is our money  from our rates,” said Anesu Chuma, a resident of Baghdad, Empumalanga.

Residents of Hwange threatened to reject the planned budget created by the Hwange Local Board in 2021, claiming there was lack of comprehensive public consultations. Residents requested audited financial reports from council in order to increase financial accountability and transparency for ratepayer funds. 

Residents said the Hwange Local Board only meets with locals during budget consultation meetings after having already developed their estimates, denying them the chance to actively participate in the establishment of development priorities and the provision of public services.

Hwange Local Board did not respond to questions send to them by Community Podium despite several follow-ups.   The HLB has not been subjected to any audit since 2015, according to locals, who are concerned about how the HLB carries out its financial monitoring and evaluation activities to promote accountable and transparent public resource management. 

“The onus is on us as residents to correct this without blaming politicians, the results of this year’s elections will decide,” said Charles Shoko, a resident.