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DEVOLUTION has been underlined as part of the theme for this year’s Independence Day celebrations. The Permanent Secretary for Presidential Affairs and Devolution, Engineer Tafadzwa Muguti (TM) has been embarking on an extensive tour of devolution projects around the country, having visited eight provinces so far.

Zimpapers Politics Hub senior reporter Richard Muponde (RM) conducted a one-on-one interview with Eng Muguti during a tour of devolution projects in Mandoga village, Mashonaland East province. Their discussion covered the devolution programme, private sector involvement in community projects, and the impact of the projects on livelihoods. The following are excerpts from the discussion.

RM: This is the eighth province that you have toured, give us an overview of your experiences to date.

TM: There’s a clear recognition that devolution funds are driving positive change. We’ve been actively clarifying the role of these funds and addressing misconceptions.

As stipulated by the Constitution, devolution funds represent a minimum of five percent of national revenue allocated to local authorities. However, it’s crucial to understand that local authorities are still required to provide essential services through the rates and taxes they collect, as legally mandated.

RM: What common challenges have you noted during your tour to these provinces?

TM: Energy is one of them. And what we’ve done now is that we have said it would be very important for a study to be done to find out just how much energy is needed per province. We want to be able to come up with this so that we can find solutions.

So we don’t see it as a challenge, we see it as an opportunity. That deficit or the shortage of energy from the national grid presents an opportunity for independent power producers to come into these communities and set up. As you can see, the sun here is scorching, there are vast pieces of flat land, which are ideal for solar farms in all our provinces. So I think it’s quite ideal that we can have that.

The other challenge that I saw was unemployment. A lot of youths are not employed, as you can see from the gathering here. It will be important that at least, as rural district councils are coming up with their ventures, like agro plots and so forth, employment is created.

I have observed that there are many investment ventures that are starting in many of our provinces. What is important is that any investor who is coming needs to engage the community. We need to remove the idea of people from Central Government making decisions for the lower tiers of Government.

There is a Provincial Government and district leadership in every province. I think it is very unfortunate that certain decisions are being made in line ministries instead of being made within the local authorities and the communities at large.

So we’re seeing that sometimes there’s resistance when investors come because there was no community engagement at all. After all, the person who signed the lease for the land or the person who approved the project might never been to that community.

They don’t know the cultures, the religion and all other norms that are here. So our word is that we’ll try and improve as the Central Government to ensure that when anything is being done, it’s led by the second and the third tier of Government.

We should not make decisions for the provincial governance structures so that in the spirit of devolution, we work as a whole of Government.

RM: What were the highlights of your visit to Mashonaland East?

TM: I was very happy to be in Marondera RDC, with the people in the community. They are telling me that they heard President Mnangagwa’s message that “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo”. They are the ones who started the foundation of this Mandoga Clinic after they realised that women were finding it difficult to give birth due to complications.

Some of them could not make it to Marondera to get specialised care and died along the way. So, out of the visits to provinces, we are looking for the untold stories, the impact of His Excellency’s policies and the impact of His Excellency’s vision. There are tangible things we can speak about as Zimbabweans being done for the people of this country by its citizens.

For this project here in Marondera, churches also chipped in the construction of the clinic, after having seen the plan by the community.

So our being here is to try to help them to see to it that the project is completed and starts to serve people. This is a beautiful facility that we are seeing here today, built by the community and other stakeholders and it’s a very large clinic that can service the entire district. This was done by the RDC, which is ably led by the ruling party, Zanu-PF, the community, the Members of Parliament, the people of this community and the traditional leadership.

RM: How do you rate the value brought in by private partners into the devolution agenda?

TM: We’re quite excited by the vision that private partners are actually teaming up with communities.  And here in Mashonaland East it’s something that is not yet perfected in the metro provinces like Harare and Bulawayo. But we’re noticing that in other provinces, rural provinces like Mashonaland East, we’re finding that companies and other stakeholders, religious organisations, are finding it easy to partner with communities.

There are many advantages to private partners partnering us in the implementation of devolution.

Firstly, it’s the ability that the community actually delivers. The second advantage is that the community is not just asking for things. The community is actually in a position where when they’re given resources, they’re utilising the resources.

In cities, we’re finding that when partners engage in an initiative, sometimes the resources are not even provided for.  But here, even the labour came from the community.

So it was quite easy for the partners to see that the vision has come through. For us, this is what  we’re talking about when we’re saying a country is built by its own people.

It is a victory when you find companies, religious organisations, cultural organisations, and the community at large, and the entire constituency partnering to address a social challenge within the community.

RM: What are your words to would-be partners who would want to partner Government in developing the country through devolution or decentralised development?

TM: His Excellency has appointed 10 Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution. They represent him in every province. Any investor, any stakeholder, any religious organisation, any company, which feels that they’ve got an idea for community development, which eradicates poverty and all the other social norms, they are more than welcome.

In this province, there is Honourable Advocate Itai Ndudzo, as the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution. He was recently appointed. He is a young, vibrant and exciting Minister. He is a legal genius who has excelled for many years as a lawyer.

So the idea is for private players to come on board, let’s work together with these ministers to implement the vision that the President has.  Surely, if we do that, we should be able to meet the targets and remove poverty from us. Devolution can surely eradicate poverty.

RM: How do you value the Village Development Committee (VIDCO) and Ward Development Committee (WADCO) models of development?

TM: Our forefathers knew very well. The VIDCO and WADCO models have always been there and we need to go back to that because that’s the foundation of community engagement.

RM: Last but not least. Devolution is part of the theme for this year’s Independence Day celebrations. What does this signify?

TM: The increased focus on devolution within the Independence Day theme underscores a strong commitment to decentralisation and empowering local communities. It’s a significant step for the nation to highlight such a crucial aspect of governance during its national celebration.