STAFF WRITER
FORMER Speaker of Parliament Lovemore Moyo feels a lot still needs to be done in as far as full implementation of the Devolution of Power concept is concerned.
The soft spoken Moyo who now leads the United Movement for Devolution (UMD) said it was clear that government has reneged on the concept.
“let me categorically state that the Zanu-PF government has not implemented any form of a Devolved system of governance in terms of Chapter 14 of the constitution of the country.
“The recent budget allocation of the so-called Devolution funds and the distribution thereof to the provinces has nothing to do with any type of devolution. This is not a new phenomenon, government has always selectively allocated resources to provinces,” Moyo said.
Moyo said the government has been dragging its feet with regard to the implementation of Devolution of power as enshrined in Chapter 14 of the constitution.
“It’s almost eight years since the adoption of a new constitution, surprisingly government has not moved an inch in operationalising the Devolution of power through the enactment of an enabling legislation. In short, an Act of Parliament is required to define the type of Devolution, its powers and responsibilities. That has not happened to date.”
He further noted that what was currently being implemented was not Devolution but a mere channeling of funds to lower structures.
“l argue that there is no devolution currently being implemented in the country. A mere allocation of funds to lower structures of government can never be regarded as devolution. However, the UMD has been very eloquent and unambiguous on the type of Devolution that will politically and economically work for the country, provinces and communities.”
He added: “The Devolution we envisage must establish a three tier cooperative framework of government structures, namely National, Provincial and Local governments. Our view is that for a devolved system of governance to be effective, autonomous provincial and local governments with distinct government competencies such as legislative and administrative functions must be established through an act of Parliament.”
He said as a party they were advocating for an elected Governor with executive authority and elected Executive Mayors for the Metropolitan cities.
“In essence, relevant and competent provincial and local government structures must be constitutionally established first, with sufficient provisions for checks and balances. It’s extremely dangerous to allocate funds and other resources to structures that are not accountable to the people.”
