Fiscal autonomy of urban councils in Zimbabwe: A critical analysis

There is a growing realisation that urbanisation has overstretched the ability and efforts of central governments to serve from the centre, giving rise to the search for a robust decentralisation policy that vests urban local government with some level of autonomy. However, efforts to capacitate urban councils through the process of decentralisation are futile if urban local government lacks the financial means to fulfil their responsibilities

The idea of a new Zimbabwe post- Mugabe

Zimbabwe has gone through deep political, economic and social challenges for close to three decades. Once known as the shining light of Africa, Zimbabwe is now often known for dominating international headlines for the wrong reasons. In November 2017, the country experienced a radical change to the constitutional and political order, which brought an end to former President Robert Mugabe’s 37-year reign. Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was once Mugabe’s right-hand man, assumed leadership of both the country and the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF). He was reelected in the July 2018 harmonised elections, although under disputed circumstances. The removal of Robert Mugabe has provided the country an opportunity to break from the past, and hopes have been raised for the birth of a new Zimbabwe. This chapter explores some of the measures that the administration post-Mugabe should implement to set the country on a new path. Thus, the purpose of this chapter is not to argue for a particular political formation or political leaders to govern. Rather, its objective is to explore whether the idea of a new Zimbabwe is possible and what it would take to realise this objective. Before discussing the prospects for this desired state of affairs, it is important to examine the current situation, which is explored in the first part of the chapter. A brief overview of the fall of Mugabe and rise of Mnangagwa is then provided to show how a leader who commanded respect beyond the shores of our continent could exit in such an undignified manner. The core section is dedicated to a discussion of the prospects for a new Zimbabwe, and concluding remarks end the chapter

Participatory budgeting in the City of Kwekwe (Zimbabwe) : a perspective on the issues-trends and options

Towards the end of 2017, as has been the case every year, the Kwekwe City Council produced a budget outlining its various activities for the 2018 financial year. The unveiling of the 2018 budget was, among other things, accompanied by disgruntlement, confrontation, street protests and dejection by the inhabitants of the City. At the centre of the problem, city inhabitants argued, was the failure of the City Council to proactively engage and involve them in the budget formulation and claims that previous budgets have failed to tackle poor service delivery. On the other hand, the City Council (comprising the administration and elected officials) rebutted these claims although there was general acceptance that the level of service delivery does not meet the expectations of the citizens of Kwekwe. The article, in the context of contributing to the debate on good governance, challenges the claim that the budgeting process in the City of Kwekwe is participatory.https://journals.co.za/content/journal/ajpahttps://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/59589am2019School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA

Participatory budgeting in the City of Kwekwe (Zimbabwe) : a perspective on the issues-trends and options

Towards the end of 2017, as has been the case every year, the Kwekwe City Council produced a budget outlining its various activities for the 2018 financial year. The unveiling of the 2018 budget was, among other things, accompanied by disgruntlement, confrontation, street protests and dejection by the inhabitants of the City. At the centre of the problem, city inhabitants argued, was the failure of the City Council to proactively engage and involve them in the budget formulation and claims that previous budgets have failed to tackle poor service delivery. On the other hand, the City Council (comprising the administration and elected officials) rebutted these claims although there was general acceptance that the level of service delivery does not meet the expectations of the citizens of Kwekwe. The article, in the context of contributing to the debate on good governance, challenges the claim that the budgeting process in the City of Kwekwe is participatory.https://journals.co.za/content/journal/ajpahttps://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/59589am2019School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA