Devolution is the new Revolution

Image - devolution.gov.nt.ca

There has been a lot of talk around the subject of devolution and it is surprising it has been interpreted to mean dividing the country along tribal lines and or just one tribal line: Ndebele and Shona. Devolution is not just a Ndebele and Shona thing, but an efficient form of governance that has been implemented successfully in a number of countries.

                Is the concept that difficult to comprehend? Is devolution the reason why Welshman Ncube has been labeled a tribal leader? Is he a tribal leader because his election campaign was premised on the Devolution is our new Revolution mantra? My thesis is not based on Welshman Ncube, but on the concept of devolution that the people of Zimbabwe are being prevented from understanding.

                I would have assumed that Zimbabweans, who claim to be the most educated Africans, would understand that devolution in simple terms is just allowing each province to determine its own economic fortunes: Have budgets drawn up at provincial level. Have provincial governments chat the developmental course of the province instead of taking everything to central government. Isn't it easier to make a provincial government accountable than take everything to the doorstep of the person of Robert Mugabe at state house? Why should a burst sewer pipe in the suburb of Luveve have anything to do with Robert Mugabe? Isn’t it easier to elect a provincial government into whose offices we can march into at any time and demand answers?

            I would have assumed that Zimbabweans would understand this and realise that it is a win-win solution for everyone. Of course there are a few individuals who want total separation of Mthwakazi from the rest of Zimbabwe but that should not be used to shut down the noble idea of devolution that is desired by the majority of provinces in Zimbabwe, not just Matabeleland. Kenya has successfully implemented devolution. Why not us?

            ‘In Kenya, the constitution approved in 2010 created 47 new counties that elected officials at the 4 March national elections. The county governments will have to provide services, but the earning potential from wooing investors will in some cases be life-changing’ – writes Parselelo Kantai in The Africa Report.

            When launching his party’s manifesto in Binga a week or so before the general elections in Zimbabwe which were held on the 31^st of July, president of the MDC said, “Here in Binga, you have your own natural resources. You have your own river, Zambezi. You have your own fish. Despite the river flowing at your doorsteps you do not have permission to fish your God-given fish; you are not even allowed to draw water from the same river,”.

            Kenya is about 581, 300 km² in size against a population of about 44 million; that’s a bit crowded compared to Zimbabwe’s size of 390, 747km² against a population of 13 million. If Kenya can have 47 devolved counties, surely 10 devolved provinces is reasonable for Zimbabwe and we should learn from the example and embrace devolution. Each of the 47 counties will now get a share of the national cake. The division of revenue Bill provided some KSh210 billion – or 34.5 % of projected revenue – until 2014 for the 47 counties. County governments can collect property and entertainment taxes but in return they have to provide core services such as primary healthcare and transport.

            ‘Alfred Mutua, governor of Machakos County – one of 47 new county governments launched in the wake of the elections in March – was quickest out of the blocks to take his government to the market. And Mutua’s efforts paid off handsomely: Machakos secured KSh56.3 billion (US$660million) in investment pledges from more than 20 companies. The projects ranged from  factory to make surgical gloves to waste disposal and paper re-cycling plants, fruit juice processors and a company that will manufacture equipment for the disabled. That is without the multibillion-dollar plans for the Konza Techno City, the so-called Silicocon Savannah, which is also going to be set up in Machakos…” – Parselelo Kantai in the Africa Report.

            That is devolution; where provincial governments can determine the economic path of the province, county in the case of Kenya. Why does that seem to be so difficult to comprehend. We should go to Harare out of choice not because survival is close to impossible if we don’t work with the big, great Harare.