In my instalment in this column last week I alluded to Cabinet minister Ignatius Chombo’s apparent despotic manner in which he runs Local Government and the helplessness that those under his “rule” find themselves in – including his deputy, Sesel Zvidzai.
The article referred to incidents where Chombo has, over many years, arrogantly displayed evident imperviousness to common wisdom — how deaf he chose to be to advice and how blind he decided to be to the possible dangers that lie ahead. I talked about behaviour that made the minister appear he believed he occupied the realm of the gods — high above humanity.
Issues including how the minister has been fingered in all sorts of “unclean” activities and questions surrounding his alleged massive wealth were raised in the article and how, in a tale typically cinematic of how African leaders have this bad habit of believing they are beyond reproach, the minister continues to ride roughshod over everyone in his way — from the installation of headmen and chiefs, rural council affairs, up to matters to do with city mayors’ decisions to employ council workers.
Many of the minister’s actions point at sycophantic and hyperbolic bootlicking of political leaders – to the extent officials become so insulated from reality they forget they are fallible beings with obligations to the people who vote them into power and residents that pay rates — not indefatigable little deities.
Chombo’s deputy, Zvidzai, while agreeing his boss gets carried away too often, feels I was too harsh in my assessment of his helplessness to the extent of “demeaning the post of Deputy Minister”, but shares with me the observations of the weaknesses of the Urban Councils Act.
For the benefit of our readers, we reproduce Deputy Minister Zvidzai’s comments which we shall, for purposes of space, edit as minimally as possible and, if need be, run the rest of the response in this column next week.
Below is the minister’s response: In response to Tangai Chipangura’s article titled Zvidzai too powerless to stop boss Chombo’s axe, I wish to make the following observations: Chipangura’s article appears to me to do the following: Demean the post of Deputy Minister; Observes the weakness of the Urban Councils Act; Assumes that all actions should always produce immediate tangible results and silent intangible results are not victories; That the game at play in the actions of Minister Chombo is about power kinetics rather than a competition between wrong and right; That history that a man makes is blind and has no memory; and Those without power should accept being trampled upon quietly.
In debating Chipangura’s article, I wish to look at and argue that focus on national development is the component of the overreaching spirit that is envisaged in the GPA and Constitutional Amendment Number 19 of 2008. The constitutionally-enshrined position of Deputy Minister therefore goes with powers and responsibilities and requires the involvement of this position in key decisions of the Government.
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As Deputy Minister of Local Government, I have the powers and it is mandatory that I am involved in key ministry decisions. Failure on the part of Minister Chombo to consult me and short-sightedly make decisions unilaterally renders such decisions personal rather than collective ministry decisions, hence they are of no legitimate and legal force. The bravado with which the minister declares that he is the Local Government sector’s Almighty and can afford to break the law in pursuit of political and economic opportunity is regrettable and will afford us an opportunity to laugh the best.
The minister should be able to answer in his own person one day as to why he has disrespected the Constitution and abused the laws of this country at will. Yes, the day will come, Mr Chombo! It is for this reason that I have consistently disassociated myself from the bagful of unlawful decisions that the minister has made and continues to make. I cannot stand back and use silence to legitimise these unilateral and unlawful decisions lest I fall victim to the principle of collective responsibility. I live the values of fairness and respect for the law.
Notwithstanding the argument I advance above about the powers of the Deputy Minister, I wish to think that this argument should be taken away from the power or lack of power debate. The fundamental issue here is the argument against wrong and the argument for right for local governance. Chombo clearly stands for unfairness, hatred and unlawful conduct and cares nothing about service delivery. He is WRONG, he stands for wrong. Standing for right as I do means keeping reminding Minister Chombo that the day will come when he will be called to account for his actions and the sooner he watches the horizon and begin to stop abusing the law, the better for him.
Is it right for a powerful village bully to beat up everybody in the village simply because the victims are not the bully’s siblings and simply because the bully is the most muscular individual in the village? Is it not wrong for the village bully to rape every beautiful girl in the village? Chombo might be the most powerful individual in the Local Government sector in the country, but is it right and good for the country for Chombo to abuse the power and abuse the law to soothe some of his anger at losing all urban councils to the MDC at the election in 2008? It is wrong and it should be opposed by all means possible, it must be rejected and condemned by all Zimbabweans whatever their life station.
The rest of the minister’s response will be published next week.
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