|
 Local Government in Zimbabwe is legislated under the Rural District Councils Act Chapter 29.13 and the Urban Councils Act Chapter 29.15. Local Government is not enshrined in the Constitution and efforts are under way to have it in the New Constitution which is currently being drafted.
Â
Zimbabwe is divided into 10 Provinces 60 Rural District councils and 31 Urban councils. Each province is headed by an appointed Provincial Governor. Local government elections are held after every five years and each councilor represents a ward. The Minister of Local government also appoints special interest councilors. The national government in Zimbabwe supports local government through the Ministry of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development. A Ministerial Committee on Decentralization was also established to support local government. The Zimbabwe Local Government Association (ZILGA) which was formed after the merger of the Urban Councils association of Zimbabwe and the Association of Rural District Councils (ARDC) is the representative body for local governments in Zimbabwe.
Â
For many years in the past the local government system in Zimbabwe was robust and largely self financing. Resources from international development partners and donor agencies were available to support local governments. However, the drying up of financing from the international donor community since 1998 saw a gradual decline in service delivery. The worsening macro-economic climate characterized by hyperinflation, shortage of foreign currency, high interest rates, dwindling national fiscus and accompanying brain drain resulted in further decline in local government capacity to deliver.
|
