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NewsDay

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Youths in local government

Opinion & Analysis
We continue with the endeavour to encourage more young people to get involved in the politics and governance of the country particularly ahead of next year’s general elections.

We continue with the endeavour to encourage more young people to get involved in the politics and governance of the country particularly ahead of next year’s general elections.

By MIRIAM TOSE MAJOME

There was never a better time to consider running for office in public service. There are always opportunities for young people to enter politics to participate and influence policy in both national and local government.

Qualified and interested people can contest for either Parliamentary seats or roles as rural or urban councillors throughout the country. The harmonised elections combine both national and local government elections so there will be many places open to be grabbed. The time to start positioning themselves and campaigning is now.

It is not enough for young people to continue complaining on social media but doing nothing tangible or at the very least try to influence how their interests are represented. They should stop being used by older politicians and run their own campaigns if they are interested in politics and have the potential.

Only young people can protect their own interests best and only young people can affect meaningful and relevant change. Power is never given on a silver platter so the youths need to aggressively position themselves for powerful positions where they are able to influence policy.

If youths are not proactive they will continue to be sidelined by older people who are only looking out for their own interests and to preserve their traditional entitlements and values. This week we will discuss councillors and their role in local governance.

Election of Councillors

Councillors are elected in terms of the Electoral Act Chapter 2:13. Basic qualifications are set in Section 115 and 119. The number of councillors forming a council is determined by the Local Government minister. Each councillor represents a ward in the area.

There are no basic educational qualifications required. The Electoral Act does not prescribe any minimum qualifications other than that the candidate should be a resident of the ward they wish to represent and that they must be a registered voter.

They should be a citizen of Zimbabwe and be at least 21 years of age. They are disqualified if they have a criminal record or if they are a member of Parliament or have previously been declared insolvent or bankrupt.

The exclusion of minimum educational qualifications presents a similar set of problems as noted for legislators. They may perform poorly in their tasks if they lack the critical skills required to understand complex legislation.

Councillors are at the frontline of managing service delivery in communities. They formulate and design policies pertaining to service delivery in terms of actual supply and delivery of services to residents in a particular area. They supervise the implementation of actual tangible deliverables such as water supply, sewerage, refuse collection, road maintenance, street lighting amongst other day-to-day services.

Calibre of Councillors

The major challenge has always been the calibre of councillors that sit on councils. Councillor positions are not necessarily filled by the most skilled but manly by those who are brave and courageous to run in elections. Councillors like members of parliament are expected to have the capacity to understand and interpret legislation particularly that which pertains to the running of local authorities like the Urban Councils Act Chapter 29:15, Rural District Councils Act Chapter 29:13, the Regional Town and Country Act Chapter 29:12 and indeed all other pieces of existing and proposed legislation.

Acts of Parliament and Bills are typically voluminous and complex and require special expertise to read, understand, interpret and apply them in their service delivery work.

Legislations runs into hundreds of pages, for example the Insolvency Bill runs up to 152 pages, the Public Sector Corporate Governance Bill is approximately 108 pages and they must all be read understood and debated concurrently. It is clear that this is a weighty task that requires special skills and a certain level of education.

To be an effective public servant a councillor as well as an MP has to be well read and conversant with all the various laws affecting their work. They are also supposed to understand and interpret council budgets and deal and debate the various applications for permits they are seized with.

This is an onerous is not impossible task for councillors, who do not possess the expertise and skills. Hence qualified and capable youths are needed so they must grab the opportunities.

Stepping up

The general principles of local government are derived from Sections 264 and 265 of the Constitution. Chief among them are to ensure good governance by being effective, accountable and institutionally coherent. People are empowered to participate in issues that affect them.

The rights of communities to manage their own affairs at community and local level are upheld and protected. When capable people see the failings of local councils to provide decent service they must get involved and offer themselves for office. Unresponsive tired or absent public representatives must be replaced with energetic and capable young people who are passionate about public service.

Miriam Tose Majome is a lawyer and a teacher. She can be contacted on [email protected]