Mguni, however, said “this was not a blank cheque” as the
empowerment policy was merit-driven and not discriminatory against deserving
companies from outside the city, but in line with devolution as enshrined in
the Constitution.
Mguni told journalists that the initiative was part of the
pledge made by the MDC Alliances when it assumed office on September 7, 2018.
“I am glad to say that we have a local empowerment policy
for the City of Bulawayo which relates to our inauguration speech of September
7, 2018, where we spoke of Bulawayo jobs and tenders for Bulawayo people,”
Mguni said.
“This should not be viewed as discrimination against
foreign or external companies, but a move to grow the Bulawayo economy and its
gross domestic product.”
He added: “My administration firmly believes in local
empowerment and devolution, as such, we believe that development can only
happen when you adopt deliberate local affirmative action plans that ensure
that money made locally is spent locally in terms of tenders and employment
opportunities. There are lots of things that we need to correct as an
administration.”
Devolution is provided for under Chapter 12 of the
Constitution with section 268 of the charter providing for the establishment of
provincial councils in the country’s 10 provinces.
However, to date, there is no enabling Act to
operationalise devolution despite government approving principles of the
Provincial Councils and Administration (Amendment) Bill.
Critics argue that, Bulawayo, once termed the industrial
hub of the country, lags behind in development because of, among others,
failure to implement devolution.
A survey of Bulawayo’s industrial area of Belmont and
closer to the city reveals that the once roaring factories are now shells of
their former selves. Newsday
0 comments:
Post a Comment