By Innocent Sibonginkosi Ncube | Zim GBC News Editor
Bulawayo – A damning new report has concluded that Zimbabwe’s devolution programme has “dismally failed” to improve public services, a direct result of the ZANU PF government’s deliberate efforts to maintain a centralised stranglehold on power and resources.
The study, launched by a consortium of civil society organisations, reveals that despite being enshrined in the 2013 Constitution, devolution has had limited impact, leaving women and girls to bear the brunt of failing healthcare, education, and water services.
Analysts and critics argue that the failure is not accidental but strategic. The ZANU PF government has systematically stalled the implementation of a meaningful devolution process to prevent provinces from governing themselves, fearing that empowered local leadership would diminish the party’s national relevance and challenge its control.
The report, titled A Critical Analysis of the Impact of Devolution on Public Service Provision in Zimbabwe, highlights that the foundational structures of devolution, such as functional Provincial Councils with legislative power, are non-existent. This absence is by design, as establishing robust provincial parliaments would decentralise political authority and take glory and power away from the ZANU PF-dominated National Legislature.
Speaking during a virtual meeting to discuss the findings, former legislator Rusty Markham, who previously sued the government over its delays, expressed deep frustration.
“I am going to be blunt, I am very disappointed in the priority given to the devolution bill,” Markham said.
“Government does budget for the money, but no one has oversight of it. There are no parameters or rules on how you use that 5%. There’s no stakeholder engagement, no transparency, and no accountability.”
The report’s findings paint a bleak picture: healthcare systems are collapsing, girls are dropping out of school due to poverty and a lack of facilities, and women still trek long distances for water, increasing their burden of unpaid care work.
A sitting Member of Parliament, Honourable Perseverance Zhou, underscored the urgency of including women, who are most affected by these failures.
“My constituents are actually all women in Zimbabwe,” she said.
“When we talk about devolution, we must make sure women are included.”
The research concludes that without a comprehensive Devolution Act, transparent funding, and inclusive governance, the constitutional promise remains a hollow one. For the ZANU PF government, critics charge, that is precisely the intention—to keep power concentrated in Harare and ensure the party’s continued dominance at the expense of democratic progress and social justice.
As Markham warned,
“The devolution bill will affect all town and country planning, it will affect all ministries… It has to be done, and done urgently.”
For now, devolution exists only on paper, another promise denied to the people of Zimbabwe.
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