URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN ZIMBABWE: A HUMAN SETTLEMENT PERSPECTIVE

This paper examines and analyses the historical development of Zimbabwean towns and cities with a view to tracing and understanding policy directions, urban spatial development trends and other factors such as population dynamics that may have led to the development of the present-day urban settlements in the country. The paper observes that whilst pre-colonial cities existed during the golden age of the Munhumutapa dynasty and empire, these had no influence on the modern town and city because they were too distant and their experiences had long been lost by the time the colonial town was introduced in the country, some four centuries later. Furthermore the paper observes that whilst policy may easily be changed or even reversed, it is a near impossibility to do the same with the spatial physical developments such as buildings and infrastructure – roads, water reticulation, sewerage reticulation and treatment works, railway lines, telecommunication lines and power lines. As a result of these realities the form and structure of our cities has remained to a large extent as originally conceived, designed and developed with perhaps some cosmetic changes in the form of redevelopments and densification of certain sectors or areas and sprawling expansion. This has also led to the many challenges of urban poverty, inadequate housing, inadequate provision of serves (potable clean water, energy, and garbage collection) and environmental quality - issues of pollution- the towns and cities are grappling with today typified by Harare and Chitungwiza, which are sited upstream of their water supply sources and as a result pollute them. The paper also notes that the socio-economic policies and political expedience by both the colonial and independent governments have had significant impacts on the morphology (shape, structure and population distribution) of towns and cities of Zimbabwe.urban, development, human settlement, population, colonial, services, morphology, demography.

Urban Local Governance in the Crucible: empirical overtones of central government meddling in local urban councils affairs in Zimbabwe

This article explores the criticalness of decentralized governance as a solution towards service delivery challenges experienced by urban centres. But, in Zimbabwe centre-local relations are a phenomenological reflection of a tendency towards (re)centralization than decentralization. This is clearly visible in the widespread political interference by central government’s Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing in the administrative affairs of urban councils. The results from a survey of a sample of fifty-two respondents on the Zimbabwean urban governance status revealed that issues of political interference revolved around the firing of legitimate councils and mayors, control of all council reforms including generation of funds, politicking in the chambers, unlawful appointments, and the use of commissions. Constitutional amendment has been cited as a big step towards political interference in urban governance of the country.decentralisation, citizenship, sustainable development, urban politics, constitution, financial management, interference

Views of postgraduate distance education students on the seminar presentation

A ZJER study to find the views of Distance Education students on the effectiveness of seminar presentations as a teaching method.This paper reports on a study carried out on views of Zimbabwe Open University Masters in Education (Educational Administration, Planning and Policy Studies) students on the effectiveness of using seminar presentations as a teaching strategy. The study particularly focused on capturing their views on the support they were receiving from lecturers before, during and after presents.ons and the availability of literature sources for preparing the seminar paper. The findings of the study show that the majority of the students thought that the seminar presentations were an effective mode of teaching course content at Masters degree level. The students also indicated that they were happy with the support they were receiving from their lecturers during the preparation and presentation of their papers. The study also noted that the students were experiencing difficulties in accessing reading materials for use when preparing their papers

An Assessment Of The Role Of Parents In Developing 'Fast-Track' Schools: The Case Of Mashonaland West Province

A ZJER article on parents participation in the development of their local schools in rural Zimbabwe.The study focused on assessing the role that parents were playing in developing ‘fast-track’ schools in the newly resettled commercial farms under the fast-track Land Reform Programme in the Mashonaland West Province of Zimbabwe. Data were collected during focus group discussions and interviews with parents and on site observations of what was going on at the schools. A convenient sample of 58 newly-established primary schools was used for the study. This sample was chosen mainly because the schools were easily accessible to the researchers. The data collected were analyzed using content analysis. The study established that parents were instrumental in getting the schools established because they wanted their children to be able to access schools that were nearer their places of residence and to reduce the walking distances traveled by the children to and from school. Parents chose school sites that they considered central to where they lived and that had physical infrastructure that could easily be converted into classrooms. The contributions by parents included setting up school committees that assisted in mobilizing the parents to assist in the development and administration of the schools, supplying building materials and providing teaching and learning materials. The major challenges faced by parents included failure to provide adequate, decent housing, sanitary facilities, clean water, electricity, teaching and learning materials for use by teachers and pupils respectively. Parents also complained of the possible wastage of the limited resources they were investing in developingeducational facilities for their children when the schools they had developed were moved to more permanent sites. The researchers recommended that permanent sites for the schools be quickly identified and established. They also recommended that all stakeholders unite as equal partners in developing the.schools and that parents should pay realistic and meaningful levies needed to fuel development of conventional infrastructure in the schools