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QJMSS (2021)https://doi.org/10.3126/qjmss.v3i1.41585 277
Abstract
Background: Since 2019, the government of Zimbabwe has been making scal
transfers to local governments as part of fullling the constitutional provisions to
improve the socio-economic wellbeing of communities. Despite these transfers,
there is limited research that establishes whether the funds are achieving the
intended results.
Objective: The main focus of this paper was to assess progress towards the
enhancement of the socio-economic rights of communities in the Mashonaland
Central province of Zimbabwe through scal decentralization.
Method: This paper adopted qualitative methodology and the case study as the
design. The Mashonaland Central province was purposively selected as it is one of
the regions lagging behind in terms of development. Data was collected through,
documentary analysis and key informant interviews with ten councilors, one
Town clerk, nine Chief Executive Ocers as well as ten focus group discussions
with community members.
Findings: The study noted that since the transfer of funds to local authorities
started in 2019, signicant progress has been achieved in the fulllment of socio-
economic rights. However, local governments were facing challenges such as the
unavailability of an administrative manual to guide them in the implementation
of scal decentralization, lack of clear funds allocation criteria, untimely and
unpredictable distribution of funds, price instability, cumbersome procurement
processes and lack of a monitoring and evaluation framework. These challenges
were negatively aecting the attainment of the desired goals.
Conclusions and Recommendations: Fiscal devolution has already started
paying dividends in enhancing the socio-economic rights of communities in
the Mashonaland Central Province of Zimbabwe in key sectors such as water
and sanitation, education, healthcare, infrastructure development, governance
and administration, and peace and security. There is a need to develop an
administrative manual for implementing scal devolution, timely disbursement
devolution funds, use of virtual meetings in the wake of the Covid- 19 pandemic,
integration of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, and capacity building of
local government policymakers and administrators.
Paper Types: Research Paper
Key Words: Fiscal Decentralization; Devolution; Socio-Economic Rights;
Local Governments.
JEL Classication: H3
Quest Journal of Management and Social Sciences
Volume 3 Issue 2: 277-290
ISSN Print: 2705-4527
ISSN Online: 2705-4535
Web: https://www.quest.edu.np
Enhancing Socio-Economic Rights in the
Mashonaland Central Province of Zimbabwe
through Fiscal Decentralization: Progress and
Challenges
Paradzai Munyede1* , Cosmas Chikwawawa1 , Delis Mazambani1
1 College of Business, Peace,
Leadership and Governance, Africa
University, Mutare, Zimbabwe
* Corresponding Author
(munyedep@africau.edu)
Received: 22 August, 2021
Revised: 15 October, 2021
Accepted: 19 November, 2021
Published: 25 December, 2021
How to cite this paper:
Munyede, P., Chikwawawa, C.,
Mazambani, D. (2021). Enhancing
socio-economic rights in the
Mashonaland central province
of Zimbabwe. Quest Journal of
Management and Social Sciences,
3(2), pp. 277-290.
Copyright © 2021 by authors and
Quest Journal of Management
and Social Sciences.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Non
Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0
International License.
https://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Open Access
Munyede et al.: Enhancing Socio-Economic Rights in the Mashonaland Central Province of Zimbabwe through Fiscal Decentralization: Progress and Challenges
QJMSS (2021)https://doi.org/10.3126/qjmss.v3i1.41585 278
Introduction
Zimbabwe’s 2013 Constitution recognizes three tiers of government — national, provincial and
metropolitan councils and local authorities. This recognition marked a departure from the previous
Lancaster House Constitution, in that, for the rst time provincial and metropolitan councils and local
authorities were formally recognized as levels of government. The Constitution has an expansive
chapter on devolution, which some commentators say embraces the pathway of a developmental local
governance system that has the potential to translate into inclusivity and equality in decision making
(Wekwete, 2016). To this end, Moyo (2019) concurs with this narrative when he retorted that the
constitutionalization of socio-economic rights has the potential of contributing to poverty alleviation
and improved access to social goods through eective public participation of communities.
Before 2013, the Zimbabwean local government system was solely a creature of the statute (Mapuva,
2015). However, in 2013 a milestone was achieved with the constitutionalisation of the local government
system in Zimbabwe. There are 92 local authorities in Zimbabwe with 32 being urban councils whilst
60 are rural district councils. These institutions are responsible for the provision of services that have
a direct impact on the socio-economic well-being of the communities in their areas of jurisdiction.
Some of the services include health services, solid waste management, education services, water and
sanitation services, and roads and transport services (Mushamba, 2010).
In Zimbabwe, scal decentralization is not a new phenomenon as it dates back to the overall
decentralization policy thrust adopted by the government after the attainment of independence in the
early 1980s. The main objective of the decentralization policy was to address historical inequalities
between the black majority and the colonial white minority populace. According to Chatiza (2010),
these early reforms were adequately supported by loans and grants known as the Public Sector
Investment Program (PSIP). During the rst decade, signicant progress was registered in areas like
education and health. However, the adoption of the Economic Structural Adjustment Program (ESAP)
in the early 1990s was followed by the subsequent rapid decline of the Zimbabwean economy in the
late 1990s, resulting in the drying up of nancial support to local governments. The immediate and
gradual eect of the decline in scal support was the deterioration of services like road infrastructure,
water, education and sanitation services. This also extended to the decline of good governance practice
by local authorities due to a lack of capacity to eectively engage citizens in local decision-making
processes. However, the adoption of the 2013 Constitution raised hopes for increased nancial support
to local governments because of the constitutional provision which states that at least 5% of the national
budget must be given to sub-national governments. However, since 2013 this failed to materialize due
to the reluctance of the central government to comply with the constitutional provisions until 2017
when there was a change of government.
In 2020 alone it was reported that the national government disbursed over $1 billion Zimbabwe dollars
in inter-governmental transfers (IGFT) towards community development projects such as basic social
infrastructure for local communities (Matabvu, 2020). For the 2021 nancial year, a budget of 19.5
billion Zimbabwean dollars was allocated to scal decentralization. The caveat to the allocations was
that local governments must utilize the funds for socio-economic development.
According to its two-stage economic development blueprint, National Development Strategy I &
II (NDS I & II) the Government of Zimbabwe aims to achieve an upper-middle-income economy
by 2030. In line with this national vision, scal decentralization is an ideal vehicle for propelling
Zimbabwe’s developmental thrust in a manner that puts local governance at the center of the national
agenda. However, the attainment of the government’s target of an upper-middle-income economy
status by 2030 can only be realized if socio-economic rights are fullled because they are considered as
a precondition for good governance and democracy (Moyo, 2019). The promotion of socio-economic
rights resonates well with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely, SDG (3) on Good
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health and Well-being, SDG (4) on Quality Education and SDG (6) on Clean Water and Sanitation.
However, despite the availing of devolution funds since 2019, there is a paucity of literature highlighting
the impact of the funds transfers on the realization of the socio-economic rights of communities. This
paper, therefore, sought to assess the impact of the transfers on the realization of the socio-economic
rights of the communities where these funds were utilized. Further, the results of the study can become
a source of relevant information that can be used by the Government to review the nancial resource
allocations process to enable the remodeling of relevant policies which should address the realities on
the ground. It was, therefore, pertinent that an investigation be undertaken to establish if the utilization
of IGFT funds by local governments was achieving the intended purpose.
The remaining part of this study is organized as Section III critically examines related literature;
Section III outlines research methods. Section IV covers ndings and Section V concludes the study.
Review of Literature
Theoretical framework
This study is underpinned by institutional theory which can be traced to the works of Selznick in the
late 1950s. According to Berthod (2016), the institutional theory provides the lens to understand how
organizations are designed and why they take certain positions when it comes to decision-making.
Institutions are inuenced by their internal and external environment with governments being one of
the external environments that inuences them through the enactment of policies and legislation to
achieve desired outcomes. For public organizations like local governments, Thoening (2011)states that
public organizations prefer not to be innovative but conform with government directives because such
acts reinforce their political legitimacy and improve the social image of their members. Therefore,
governments dene the rules of the game and the actors who have to participate in the game, the agenda
to be achieved and the punishment to be given in the event of any deviation. As a result of the above,
organizations seek to become legitimate and become accepted by society through abiding by the rules
and regulations set by governments.
The adoption and disbursement of inter-governmental funds to local governments in 2019 by the
Government of Zimbabwe in conformity with constitutional provisions specically section 301 (3).
Through formal structures, local governments became recipients of the funds and have the obligation
to implement projects as specied by the central government. Therefore, concerning this study,
the institutional theory was used as a lens to establish the extent to which local governments have
been inuenced by institutional structures, laws and policies in implementing projects under scal
decentralization in the pursuit of socio-economic rights in the Mashonaland Central province of
Zimbabwe.
Conceptual Review
Devolution is generally considered a vehicle for socio-economic development (Conyers, 2003;
Mnyasenga & Mushi, 2015; Nhede, 2013; Chigwata, 2019; Zinyama & Chimanikire, 2019; Vambe,
2019; Chikwawawa, 2019; ZEPARU, 2019; ZEPARU, 2020). Local economic development and
poverty reduction are the major objectives of decentralization in Zimbabwe, as decentralization is
regarded as a means of promoting rural development, principally through service delivery enhancement
(Conyers, 2003). Expounding on this notion, Nhede (2013) asserts that that devolution engenders
local development and national unity through fostering the acceptance of diversity, pointing out that
devolution promotes local decision-making on infrastructural and economic development agendas in
a manner that allows local authorities to initiate development plans appropriate to their regions, taking
into consideration their distinctive challenges, priorities and opportunities.
Munyede et al.: Enhancing Socio-Economic Rights in the Mashonaland Central Province of Zimbabwe through Fiscal Decentralization: Progress and Challenges
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Likewise, Mnyasenga and Mushi (2015) opine that administrative decentralization of social and
economic development, as an antidote to the deciencies of a centralized system, and is a crucial
condition for social and economic development as well as ecient and eective service delivery. Along
the same vein, Muchadenyika (2015) posits that devolution of power and authority to local entities is
crucial in enhancing the people’s participation in the formulation and implementation of development
initiatives and the development process in general. Similarly, Chikwawawa (2019) aptly asserts that
the objectives of devolution in Zimbabwe is the realization of good and eective local government that
aords citizens and communities economic and political power, through equitable sharing of national
and local economic resources, as well as participation in decision-making on matters aecting their
well-being. Furthermore, Chikwawawa (2019) opines that the sharing of political, administrative and
scal powers empowers local authorities and local communities politically and economically, which is
one of the ultimate goals of good governance.
Lack of political will has been identied as the major impediment to devolution (Jonga, 2014; Wekwete,
2016; Chikwawawa, 2019; Nyikadzino and Shikha (2020). In this regard, Jonga (2014) asserts that
Zimbabwe has a very clear decentralization policy targeted at empowering local authorities and local
communities, but owing to resistance and lack of political will, among other factors, it has not been
possible to make meaningful progress in implementing the policy. Relatedly, Wekwete (2016) observes
that the biggest challenge is the lack of the requisite political will needed to develop the necessary
legislation to make the decentralization work. In concurrence with this view, Vambe (2019) asserts
that political unwillingness to implement devolution has led to the delay in the development of the
appropriate legal framework and has also led to the neglect of the alignment of the already existing
legal framework, which is critical for the successful implementation of devolution.
Since the adoption of Constitutional Amendment, No 20 of 2013, several research studies have
been carried out focusing on devolution, and the majority of them by scholars (Mapuva, 2015;
Muchadenyika, 2015; Nyati and Ncube, 2017) focused on unpacking political decentralization and
administrative structures leaving out scal decentralization. Therefore, this research covers this lacuna
by evaluating the impact of scal decentralization on the attainment of socio-economic rights as a
strategy to empower communities. This study oers a practical solution by interrogating the extent
to which the utilization of the IGFT funds is contributing towards the fulllment of socio-economic
rights. Since scal transfer is still in its infancy, the results of this study could help the government to
take early corrective measures before the adoption of the second National Development Strategy (NDS
II 2026-2030). Further, the focus on local authorities could help to expose the institutional and policy
gaps which can result in the crafting of appropriate capacity enhancement strategies.
Conceptual framework
Fiscal decentralization is one of the dimensions of decentralization. Boschmann (2009) denes
decentralization as a gradual process that operates within a known legal framework and its components
include administrative decentralization, political decentralization and scal decentralization. He further
states that scal decentralization is the devolution of taxing and spending powers from the control of
the central government to subnational tiers of governments. Economic Co-operation and Development
(2006) denes it as the share of national governments expenditure with sub-national governments
expenditure. The operationalization and success of scal decentralization depend on its interaction
with institutions like local governments. Fiscal decentralization is used to achieve various purposes
which include, improvement of service delivery, promotion of accountability, and good governance
and is regarded as an equalization mechanism that promotes fairness and equity between regions or
provinces (World Bank, 2007).
According to Ma (1997), intergovernmental funds transfer is broadly classied into two categories —
conditional and unconditional grants. In terms of a conditional grant, the central government transfers
Munyede et al.: Enhancing Socio-Economic Rights in the Mashonaland Central Province of Zimbabwe through Fiscal Decentralization: Progress and Challenges
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the funds to recipients and also spells out the purpose for which the funds must be used. There are
variants to the conditional grants, rst, there is the matching grant under which the government states
that if it, for instance, spends USD100 then the local government must match with the same amount.
Second, there are the matching-ended grants whereby the central government will put a ceiling to
the maximum amount it will provide. Finally, there is the non-matching grant under which the local
government is not required to provide any funds but must spend the funds allocated by the central
government on the specic purpose as directed. The unconditional grants are provided by the central
government to recipients as a lump sum without any conditionalities being attached to it.
In the Zimbabwean context, the central government guided the utilization of the intergovernmental
funds through Circular Number 1 of 2019. The Circular states that the intergovernmental funds are
meant for capital developmental projects in the following sectors, health, education, roads, electricity,
water as well as plant and equipment. From the contents of the Circular highlighted above, it is clear
that scal decentralization in Zimbabwe falls within the ambit of a conditional grant under the non-
matching grant dimension because it meets the conditions noted by Boschmann (2009) which include
the availability of a legal framework under section 301 (3) of the Constitution. Further, the grant gives
specic areas of interest to the central government, whilst giving local government limited latitude to
choose the specic projects to undertake within the dened parameters. It can also be noted that the
areas specied by the central government resonate with Declaration of Rights of the Constitution,
especially sections 73, 75, 76 and 77 on socio-economic rights.
Research methods
Study Area
Figure 1: Map of Mashonaland Central Province
6
Mashonaland Central province is one of the ten administrative provinces in Zimbabwe. The
province covers 28, 347 square kilometers and is located in the northeastern part of the country
bordering Zambia to the north and Mozambique to the east. There are 10 local authorities in
the province, two being urban councils and eight being Rural District Councils (RDC). In terms
of infrastructure such as roads, telecommunication, electricity, water provision, schools and
clinics, urban areas have better infrastructure as compared to the rural areas. However, due to
years of inadequate funding and neglect, most of the infrastructure in the province is in a
dilapidated state and some require rehabilitation and upgrading whilst in other situations
require the construction of new ones (Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, 2013).
In terms of population distribution, 92% of the inhabitants in the province reside in rural areas,
that is in farms and communal areas. A total of 8% reside in urban settlements which comprise
a municipality, a town, and some growth points located in the various districts of the province.
Mashonaland Central province is the least developed province in Zimbabwe.
Figure 1: Map of Mashonaland Central Province
Data Analysis
This qualitative research was informed by the interpretivism philosophy. The case study
research design was adopted because of its effectiveness in carrying out an in-depth
interrogation of a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context (Yin, 2009). From the
10 provinces of Zimbabwe, Mashonaland Central province was purposively selected to be the
area of study because it is one of the least industrialized and urbanized provinces in the country.
As such, it provides the ideal context to establish the impact of an intervention like fiscal
decentralization, particularly on the realization of socio-economic rights. Data collection was
done through key informant interviews with 10 elected policymakers who included one Mayor
and nine Chairpersons of Rural District Councils. From the administration side of the councils,
key informant interviews were held with one town clerk, one town secretary, and eight chief
executive officers. To capture the views of the beneficiaries of fiscal devolution, 10 focus group
discussions with community members were held in compliance with Covid-19 health
guidelines. The data was augmented by secondary data accessed from documents such as the
Constitution of Zimbabwe Act Amendment No 20 of 2013, policy documents like Vision 2030
Mashonaland Central province is one of the ten administrative provinces in Zimbabwe. The province
covers 28, 347 square kilometers and is located in the northeastern part of the country bordering
Zambia to the north and Mozambique to the east. There are 10 local authorities in the province, two
Munyede et al.: Enhancing Socio-Economic Rights in the Mashonaland Central Province of Zimbabwe through Fiscal Decentralization: Progress and Challenges
QJMSS (2021)https://doi.org/10.3126/qjmss.v3i1.41585 282
being urban councils and eight being Rural District Councils (RDC). In terms of infrastructure such
as roads, telecommunication, electricity, water provision, schools and clinics, urban areas have better
infrastructure as compared to the rural areas. However, due to years of inadequate funding and neglect,
most of the infrastructure in the province is in a dilapidated state and some require rehabilitation
and upgrading whilst in other situations require the construction of new ones (Ministry of Local
Government and Public Works, 2013).
In terms of population distribution, 92% of the inhabitants in the province reside in rural areas, that is
in farms and communal areas. A total of 8% reside in urban settlements which comprise a municipality,
a town, and some growth points located in the various districts of the province. Mashonaland Central
province is the least developed province in Zimbabwe.
Data Analysis
This qualitative research was informed by the interpretivism philosophy. The case study research
design was adopted because of its eectiveness in carrying out an in-depth interrogation of a
contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context (Yin, 2009). From the 10 provinces of
Zimbabwe, Mashonaland Central province was purposively selected to be the area of study because
it is one of the least industrialized and urbanized provinces in the country. As such, it provides the
ideal context to establish the impact of an intervention like scal decentralization, particularly on the
realization of socio-economic rights. Data collection was done through key informant interviews with
10 elected policymakers who included one mayor and nine chairpersons of rural district councils.
From the administration side of the councils, key informant interviews were held with one town clerk,
one town secretary, and eight chief executive ocers. To capture the views of the beneciaries of
scal devolution, 10 focus group discussions with community members were held in compliance with
Covid-19 health guidelines. The data was augmented by secondary data accessed from documents such
as the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Act (No.20) Act of 2013, policy documents like Vision
2030 which is the economic development blueprint for Zimbabwe, periodic progress reports by the
local authorities, and online publications.
Purposive sampling was adopted in selecting the 10 senior employees of councils because of their
positions and knowledge of the area under study. The same sampling method was also used in collecting
data from the council chairpersons and mayor as they are the senior policymakers in councils. The
community members were randomly selected in each district and grouped according to age and sex.
Data gathered from the key informants and focused group discussions were analyzed using thematic
analysis as it helped in identifying patterns and themes.
Duration of the Study
The study was undertaken over seven months from January 2021 to July 2021. Data collection
was prolonged because of the restrictions imposed by the Government in response to the outbreak
of Covid-19. These restrictions curtailed easy access to some data from Government agencies and
hindered physical interviewing of respondents.
Data Analysis and Results
Since the commencement of the intergovernmental transfers in 2019, signicant progress towards
the enhancement of socio-economic rights was made by local authorities in Mashonaland central
province. In terms of the release of funds to local governments, the central government has been
fullling its promise to comply with provisions of section 301 (3) of the Constitution, which compels
it to allocate at least ve percent of the national revenue to lower tiers of government. From 2019 to
2020, Mashonaland Central province received a total of 91,812,764.00 Zimbabwean dollars, which
was distributed to the ten local authorities as follows:
Munyede et al.: Enhancing Socio-Economic Rights in the Mashonaland Central Province of Zimbabwe through Fiscal Decentralization: Progress and Challenges
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Figure 2: Funds distributed to local authorities in Mashonaland Central province.
7
which is the economic development blueprint for Zimbabwe, periodic progress reports by the
local authorities, and online publications.
Purposive sampling was adopted in selecting the 10 senior employees of councils because of
their positions and knowledge of the area under study. The same sampling method was also
used in collecting data from the council chairpersons and mayor as they are the senior
policymakers in councils. The community members were randomly selected in each district
and grouped according to age and sex. Data gathered from the key informants and focused
group discussions were analyzed using thematic analysis as it helped in identifying patterns
and themes.
Duration of the Study
The study was undertaken over seven months from January 2021 to July 2021. Data collection
was prolonged because of the restrictions imposed by the Government in response to the
outbreak of Covid-19. These restrictions curtailed easy access to some data from Government
agencies and hindered physical interviewing of respondents.
Data Analysis and Results
Since the commencement of the intergovernmental transfers in 2019, significant progress
towards the enhancement of socio-economic rights was made by local authorities in
Mashonaland central province. In terms of the release of funds to local governments, the central
government has been fulfilling its promise to comply with provisions of section 301 (3) of the
Constitution, which compels it to allocate at least five percent of the national revenue to lower
tiers of government. From 2019 to 2020, Mashonaland Central province received a total of
91,812,764.00 Zimbabwean dollars, which was distributed to the ten local authorities as
follows:
Figure 2: Funds distributed to local authorities in Mashonaland Central province.
- 5,000,000.00 10,000,000.00 15,000,000.00
Bindura Municipality
Rushinga RDC
Mvurwi Town
Guruve RDC
Muzarabani RDC
Mazowe RDC
Pfura RDC
Chaminuka RDC
Mbire RDC
Bindura RDC
13,282,800.00
12,806,300.00
11,627,664.00
9,164,000.00
9,150,000.00
8,400,000.00
7,765,000.00
7,242,000.00
6,361,000.00
6,014,000.00
Funds disbursed to local
authorities in Mashonaland
Central 2019-2020
Source: Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, Mashonaland Central Province Report.
As shown in Figure 2, Bindura Municipality, which is the capital of the province received the highest
amount of 13,282,800.00 Zimbabwean dollars translating it to 14.47%, whilst from the rural district
councils, Rushinga RDC received the highest amount of 12,806,300.00 Zimbabwean dollars, translating
it to 13.95%. Overall, Bindura RDC received the least amount of 6,014,000.00 Zimbabwean dollars
translating it to 6.55%. However, despite the disparities in the funds received, all local authorities
managed to register signicant progress on projects and this has a positive impact on the socio-
economic well-being of communities as detailed below:
Major Achievements by Local Authorities
The ten local authorities prioritized dierent projects which can be broadly classied under the
following strategic pillars:
Water and Sanitation
From the progress reports submitted to the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works,
Chaminuka RDC managed to drill ve boreholes in ve wards to improve access to safe, clean and
potable water. Bindura Municipality carried out major water plant rehabilitation works as well as
water and sewer network rehabilitation. Whilst Bindura RDC managed to drill two boreholes one
for rural schools and the rest for community members. Pfura RDC constructed public toilets at its
main bus terminus in Mt Darwin. Mvurwi Town focused on sewer stabilization ponds and drilling
of two boreholes. The implementation of all the above projects resonates well with the provisions of
section 77 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe which reads, “Every person has the right to safe, clean,
and potable water”. Further, the implementation of these projects is in tandem with aspirations of
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 6, which calls for the universal achievement
of clean water and sanitation.
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Education
It was highlighted in the key informant interviews with the elected ocials and the chief executive
ocers that Rushinga RDC managed to construct four classroom blocks and two teacher’s houses.
Bindura Municipality constructed a new school called Brockdale Primary School. Mbire RDC prioritized
the electrication of its schools. In Guruve the local authority constructed a science laboratory at
Chifamba High school, whist Pfura RDC carried out renovations at four classroom blocks. The duty-
bearers highlighted that they prioritized the education sector in line with the provisions of section 75
of the constitution, which compels them to provide access to education for children in their areas of
jurisdiction. Further, the ocials stated that they prioritized the education sector because their districts
were lagging behind other provinces in terms of appropriate infrastructure due to the eects of the war
of independence experienced in the 1970s.
Health
The focused group discussions held with respondents indicated that access to health was a major
challenge, especially in rural areas. The participants stated that in most communities people traveled
over 20 kilometers to access health services and this was negatively aecting the right to healthcare
as required by section 76 of the Constitution. As a result, Chaminuka RDC channeled its nancial
resources towards the construction of a clinic to improve access to health by its communities. On
the same note, Rushinga RDC managed to construct two clinics namely, Nyatsato and Chomutukutu.
This was also complemented by the construction of houses for health personnel at these clinics. These
clinics were serving a combined population of about nine thousand people. In response to the outbreak
of the Covid-19, Bindura RDC managed to renovate a structure that became the provincial Covid-19
isolation center. Muzarabani RDC constructed three clinics and all were near completion by the time
of this study. Therefore, the projects prioritized by the local authorities contributed to the realization
of the right to health care as enshrined in Section 76 of the Constitution. This nding, thus, conrms
what was established in the reviewed existing literature (Conyers, 2003; Nhede, 2013; Chigwata, 2019;
Vambe, 2019; ZEPARU, 2020). Vambe (2019), for instance, points out that devolution contributes
to the improvement of service delivery and socio-economic development in local communities.
Likewise, concerning the provision of healthcare, ZEPARU (2020), posits that potential benets of
scal devolution include the provision of eective health and educational systems and services at local
levels.
Plant and Equipment
Chaminuka RDC purchased a refuse compactor to manage the disposal of solid waste. Rushinga RDC
purchased a tipper truck and a motorbike. Guruve RDC purchased a backhoe loader and a motor
vehicle for projects monitoring. Muzarabani RDC procured a vehicle for project monitoring, while
Mvurwi Town purchased a water bowser to mitigate erratic water supplies. Respondents stated that
recapitalization of the local authorities was key to the provision of services such as road maintenance.
This dovetailed with what was highlighted in the reviewed literature for this study. For example,
ZEPARU (2020) underscored the importance of the timely provision of nances as one of the critical
success factors for devolution.
Animal Healthcare
Mbire RDC constructed two dip tanks and a slaughterhouse for cattle. According to respondents from
the district, they prioritized animal healthcare because their area is predominantly a wildlife district so
their livestock especially cattle were highly exposed to the foot and mouth disease which is spread by
bualoes. Therefore, they wanted their cattle to be healthy as they use them for a variety of purposes
which include, draught power, provision of manure for gardening as well as provision of milk and
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meat. The use of devolution to address the community’s relevant socio-economic needs attests to the
contribution of scal decentralization to the enjoyment of socio-economic rights as underscored in
literature (Conyers, 2003; Mnyasenga and Mushi, 2015; Nhede, 2013; Vambe, 2019; ZEPARU, 2019;
ZEPARU, 2020).
Governance and Administration
Rushinga and Pfura RDC managed to electrify their oces by way of a solar system whilst Muzarabani
installed a solar system and information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure at its
oces. The councillors, who were interviewed, stated that these solar systems were going to improve
service delivery because their districts used to experience serious electricity blackouts which aected
the normal operations of the council. This nding clearly shows the contribution of scal devolution
to socio development, thereby, contributing to the enjoyment of socio-economic rights by local
communities as envisaged in some of the reviewed existing literature (Conyers, 2003; Mnyasenga &
Mushi, 2015).
Infrastructure and Local Economic Development
Bindura Municipality and Guruve RDC constructed bridges to facilitate access from one community to
another in areas separated by rivers and other water bodies. Pfura RDC rehabilitated its public transport
passengers’ shades at its main bus terminus. Manifestly, this nding shows the crucial contribution
of scal devolution towards the realization of socio-economic rights by local communities, as their
economic and social welfare was clearly enhanced. In terms of local economic development, Bindura
Municipality constructed the Chipadze Flea Market to support income generation projects of residents.
In the focused group discussion held in Bindura, respondents stated that the ea markets were going
to improve their livelihoods since the informal sector was currently the backbone of the Zimbabwean
economy clearly attesting to the contribution of scal devolution to socioeconomic development.
Peace and Security
Rushinga RDC managed to construct a Police Post to ensure the availability of law enforcement agents
for its marginalized communities in the Mukosa area especially to young vulnerable girls who were
being forced into early marriages while Muzarabani RDC installed solar street lights to curb criminal
activities as these are usually perpetrated in dark environments. In these regards, the ndings indicate
the contribution of scal devolution to socio-economic development in the localities under study, thus
conrming what was highlighted in some of the reviewed literature (Conyers, 2003; Mnyasenga and
Mushi, 2015; Nhede, 2013; Vambe, 2019; Chikwawawa, 2019; ZEPARU, 2019; ZEPARU, 2020).
Challenges
Unavailability of Administrative Manual
Since the implementation of the IGFT in 2019, no administrative manual has been developed to guide
local authorities. The non-availability of the manual has resulted in dierent interpretations on what
qualies to be purchased, especially concerning the procurement of vehicles. Some local authorities
managed to purchase vehicles that they argued were meant for project monitoring whilst others had
their requests turned down. This lack of the administrative manual was cited by some local authorities
as a loophole that was being abused by some junior ocers in the Ministry of Local Government and
Public Works to direct the treasurers of councils to remove some budget items even though the council
would have made a resolution passing the budget. Therefore, the lack of an administrative manual was
aecting the implementation of projects since administrative ocers lacked clear policy guidance.
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Unclear Funds Allocation Criteria
The criteria that were being used to allocate funds to councils were a cause of concern, with the urban
councils, on one hand, arguing that they should get more funding since they have the highest number of
dilapidated infrastructure which needed to be rehabilitated and upgraded. On the other hand, the rural
district councils argued that they deserved more funding because, rstly the urban councils inherited
better infrastructure after the attainment of independence in 1980, as they were given preferential
treatment by the post-independence government in terms of resource allocations. Rural district councils
also highlighted that all statistical indicators showed that rural areas were the least developed in terms
of access to healthcare facilities, schools, clean, safe and potable water and road infrastructure so they
deserved to receive more funding as compared to urban councils. There is, therefore, a need to put
nality to the issue of how funds should be allocated to councils through an agreed allocation formula.
Unpredictable Release of Funds
Both urban and rural local authorities bemoaned the lack of a clear time frame for the release of
funds to them by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. It was highlighted that in most
circumstances funds were deposited in the bank accounts of local councils without any notication.
Further, the disbursements were made around June instead of January. Therefore, this was aecting
the council’s work plans. The council ocials indicated that they usually received large sums of funds
towards the end of December when the nancial year is almost closing such that there would not be
enough time to implement planned projects. This lack of clarity on the timing of the release of funds
caused some contractors to abandon projects due to erratic payments for work carried out and the
unavailability of raw materials. Further, suppliers were no longer willing to supply goods and services
to councils as they viewed them as unreliable in terms of payment for goods delivered or services
rendered.
Unstable Prices of Goods and Services
Before August 2018, the Zimbabwean economy was using the United States Dollar as its trading
currency. But due to liquidity challenges, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe introduced a local currency
that initially traded at an equivalent exchange rate with the United States Dollar. However, this did
not last long as the local currency started losing its value against the United States Dollar and as a
result, a black-market rate emerged and traders started pegging their prices using the black-market
rate to hedge against ination. The traders also started rejecting the local currency preferring united
states dollars for all goods in services. To address this anomaly, the government of Zimbabwe issued
Statutory Instrument 85 of 2020 which directed the use of the Zimbabwean currency exclusively for all
domestic transactions. However, the reality has been that the black market has been on the rise whilst
the ocial rate has remained static as shown below:
To solve this challenge, the Central Bank of Zimbabwe then introduced a foreign currency auction
system which was envisaged to be a mechanism to allocate foreign currency to companies. However,
the scarcity of foreign currency from the ocial auction system has resulted in most traders sourcing
it from the black market to procure their stocks. Given this, goods sold to local governments are priced
using the black-market rate, not the ocial rate. Therefore, the eect has been the reduction in terms
of quantities of goods purchased or cancellation of tenders because the purchasing power of the funds
would have been eroded. This has negatively impacted the completion of projects which have the
potential to enhance the socio-economic status of communities.
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Figure 3: Zimbabwe exchange rate movements
12
Figure 3: Zimbabwe exchange rate movements
Source: Zimbabwe market watch
To solve this challenge, the Central Bank of Zimbabwe then introduced a foreign currency
auction system which was envisaged to be a mechanism to allocate foreign currency to
companies. However, the scarcity of foreign currency from the official auction system has
resulted in most traders sourcing it from the black market to procure their stocks. Given this,
goods sold to local governments are priced using the black-market rate, not the official rate.
Therefore, the effect has been the reduction in terms of quantities of goods purchased or
cancellation of tenders because the purchasing power of the funds would have been eroded.
This has negatively impacted the completion of projects which have the potential to enhance
the socio-economic status of communities.
Procurement Process
Procurement processes by public institutions in Zimbabwe are regulated by the Public
Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act [Chapter 22:23] and numerous guidelines and
regulations which should be strictly complied with. It was noted that the procurement process
was cumbersome and impeded the expeditious acquisition of goods and services in an
inflationary environment, thereby resulting in reduced quantities of goods and services
procured, which in turn, negatively affected the completion of projects.
Lack of Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanism in Projects
Monitoring and evaluation are key concepts that should be infused into the management of
projects. Although monitoring and evaluation are viewed as related, they are distinct functions.
On one hand, monitoring is viewed as a process that provides information and ensures the use
of such information by management to assess project effects-both intentional and unintentional
and their impact. It aims at determining whether or not the intended objectives have been met.
Evaluation, on the other hand, draws on the data generated by the monitoring system as a way
of analyzing the trends and impacts of the project (Burke,1999).
-
50.00
100.00
150.00
200.00
250.00
Zimbabwe exchange rate movements:Official
against Black Market 2019-2020
Official Rate:ZWL Black market:ZWL
Source: Zimbabwe market watch
Procurement Process
Procurement processes by public institutions in Zimbabwe are regulated by the Public Procurement
and Disposal of Public Assets Act [Chapter 22:23] and numerous guidelines and regulations which
should be strictly complied with. It was noted that the procurement process was cumbersome and
impeded the expeditious acquisition of goods and services in an inationary environment, thereby
resulting in reduced quantities of goods and services procured, which in turn, negatively aected the
completion of projects.
Lack of Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanism in Projects
Monitoring and evaluation are key concepts that should be infused into the management of projects.
Although monitoring and evaluation are viewed as related, they are distinct functions. On one hand,
monitoring is viewed as a process that provides information and ensures the use of such information
by management to assess project eects-both intentional and unintentional and their impact. It aims
at determining whether or not the intended objectives have been met. Evaluation, on the other hand,
draws on the data generated by the monitoring system as a way of analyzing the trends and impacts of
the project (Burke,1999).
This study indicated that monitoring and evaluation of projects were not included in the project
planning phase. The respondents highlighted that monitoring of projects was not being prioritized as
it was viewed as a waste of funds and time-consuming. If such a monitoring and evaluation visit was
done, it was indicated that it would be as a result of a tour by ocials from the central government.
The Outbreak of the Covid- 19 Pandemic
The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic had a serious negative impact on the operations of local
authorities as they were ill-prepared to operate in an environment that imposed lockdowns and
restrictions on meetings and gatherings. As institutions, local authorities in Mashonaland Central
were supposed to comply with statutory instruments that were promulgated for the prevention and
containment of Covid-19, especially on the convening of physical meetings. The failure to hold
meetings and pass resolutions aected the implementation of projects, resulting in some of them being
delayed or set aside.
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Dependence Syndrome and Erosion of Good Local Governance Practice
IGFT can be viewed as readily accessible funding which supports the fulllment of the constitutional
provision on devolution. Its availability has, however, created room for dependence syndrome among
local authorities which have become reluctant to pursue other sources of revenue generation which
they deem dicult to collect. Since local authorities are aware that all capital expenditure is covered
by IGFT, they end up pursuing limited sources of revenue to meet their administrative costs, especially
salaries.
Conclusions and recommendations
This paper established that scal devolution has already started paying dividends in enhancing the socio-
economic rights of communities in the Mashonaland Central Province of Zimbabwe. Signicant strides
have been realized in key sectors, such as water and sanitation, education, healthcare, infrastructure
development, small-to-medium enterprises development, governance and administration, and peace
and security. Progressive realization of these socio-economic rights is a step in the right direction
towards the attainment of Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030, the National Development Strategy I & II (NDS-
1&II), the African Union Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Notwithstanding the positive inroads that scal decentralization has made so far in terms of fostering
the enjoyment of socio-economic rights by local communities, it is currently lumbered with a plethora
of challenges militating against its eective and ecient implementation. The challenges include the
unavailability of an administrative manual to guide local authorities in the implementation of scal
decentralization, lack of clear funds allocation criteria, untimely and unpredictable distribution of
funds, price instability owing mainly to inconsistencies in monetary policies, cumbersome procurement
processes and lack of a monitoring and evaluation framework for projects nanced through scal
devolution. These challenges have been severely compounded by the Covid- 19 pandemic which has
led the government to interminably institute measures such as lockdowns and restrictions of meetings
and gatherings, with profound adversative implications for the implementation of projects nanced
through scal devolution.
Despite these challenges, scal decentralization is undoubtedly an eective vehicle for economic
development. For eective implementation of scal decentralization to be attained, there is a need
for government to develop an administrative manual to guide local authorities in implementing scal
devolution. There is also a need to timeously disburse devolution funds to local authorities to ensure
that the implementation of projects is not unnecessarily delayed. In the wake of the pervasive and
seismic Covid- 19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown measures it gives rise to, such as the restriction
of physical meetings, local authorities are advised to consider making use of virtual meetings, whenever
possible, to ensure that projects are not stalled by their inability to hold physical meetings. In addition,
integration of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in the projects for constant checking of progress
and impacts is required. Capacity building of local government policymakers and administrators
on principles of good governance and democracy to ensure community participation, as well as
transparency and accountability in project implementation and management, is also a compelling
requirement. That said, it can be concluded that there are high prospects of success for enhancing the
realization of socio-economic rights by communities in Mashonaland Central Province of Zimbabwe,
through scal decentralization.
Conict of Interest
Author(s) declare no conict of interest while preparing this article.
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