The Centre for Community Development in Zimbabwe (CCDZ) and Harare Residents Trust (HRT) is conducting a Briefing Session on Devolution today (29th March 2019) in Harare. The purpose of the briefing session is to engage the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local Government, Public Works and National Housing on the implementation of devolution as provided for in Chapter 14 of the Constitution. This initiative is a follow-up on a series of other activities such as Stakeholder Consultative Meetings on Devolution and an ultimate position paper that was submitted by two organizations to the Permanent Secretary for Local Government in November 2018. The main expectation is that the briefing session will interrogate issues such as the delay by government to establish and operationalize Provincial and Metropolitan Councils (PMCs) as provided for in Sections 268 & 269 of the Constitution. One of the major outputs of the workshop will be to agree on steps and timeline in the implementation of devolution. Specific objectives of the session are as follows:
- To brief members of the newly constituted Local Government Portfolio Committee on the petition on devolution submitted to Parliament by civil society in 2017.
- To engage the Local Government Portfolio Committee on the legislative steps being taken to implement devolution and establishment of Provincial Councils.
- To share with Members of the Local Government committee a Position Paper on devolution submitted to Ministry of Local Government in November 2019.
- To agree with the Local Government Portfolio Committee on a time-bound, participatory and inclusive process of crafting the devolution legislation.
The recommendations of the meeting will be shared widely to relevant non-state actors and state actors.
Source: Centre for Community Development in Zimbabwe (CCDZ) and Harare Residents Trust (HRT)
