The Attorney-General (AG)’s office is currently drafting
amendments to the Rural Districts Council Act, which seeks, among other things,
to fix qualifications for those running for council office.
Among other provisions, the amendments will provide
regulations for suspension and removal of councillors from office and
procedures for the appointment and operations of independent tribunals.
In addition, the amendment Bill will also set guidelines
for the incorporation of junior councillors into development programmes under
the local authorities.
Cabinet adopted principles to the Bill in March last year.
Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo said:
“We sent the principles to the AG’s office and once a draft Bill is completed,
it will be sent to Cabinet.
“In terms of councillors’ qualifications, the main aim was
to ensure that councillors have minimum qualifications, for example, having a
tertiary education qualification.
“So, once the draft Bill is done, it will spell out exactly
what the minimum qualification will be.
“We have counterparts who think the process of selecting a
councillor is a popularity contest.
“However, we view it is a governance issue, one which
affects a lot of issues — ranging from the provision of sanitation, creating an
attractive business environment to attracting international investment.
“So, we believe that individuals running a city, town or
even a rural district must be capable and have requisite skills and knowledge.”
Minister Moyo said the new regulations will, however, not
be ready for the harmonised elections, scheduled for later this year.
“Given the limited time that we have before the harmonised
elections, I cannot guarantee that these provisions will be used during this
year’s elections,” he added.
“We want to appeal to political parties, as we go into the
elections, and say these councils are critical institutions and some of them
have budgets that are bigger than those appropriated to ministries.
“Running these councils is like running a ‘country’,
therefore, they need to be run by people of higher intellectual calibre than
what we have now.”
He said Harare was an example of how unqualified
councillors can easily run down a metropolis.
“We have been witnessing some businesses relocating from
Harare’s central business district (CBD) because of the prevalence of illegal
activities in the CBD.
“This is actually breaking down the CBD, which will be
costly to revive.”
Presently, statutes governing the election of councillors
do not fix education qualifications for aspiring office holders.
Harare Residents Trust director Mr Precious Shumba said the
development will enhance service delivery when councils are run by competent
people.
“It is important that, as a country, we apply the same
template used by most employers when they recruit their personnel,” said Mr
Shumba.
“The idea is to enhance the performance and quality of institutions
through recruitment of the right personnel.
“Local authorities in Zimbabwe operate under the committee
system, where councillors sit and consider important policy and strategy
matters.
“Essentially, all policy formulation requires the input of
all stakeholders.
“Competent personnel, especially councillors, have to be
literate enough to interpret and critically analyse data and make the best
decisions.
Councillors, he said, must play an oversight role over
council bureaucrats and “this is only possible when they have the right
knowledge and experience to scrutinise documentation and even do their own
counter-checking of issues.
“They also play representative and policy making roles, which
are by no means trivial pursuits.”
In 2020, former Harare mayor Bernard Manyenyeni said the
current crop of city fathers lack basic education qualifications and relevant
skills to run the city. Sunday Mail
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