BY nqobani ndlovu
THE opposition MDC has decentralised its national meetings that have religiously been held at its head office in the capital, Harare, with party officials saying the development is in the spirit of embracing devolution.
The opposition party will hold its national council, executive and standing committee meetings in Bulawayo this week, and will in future be held in other cities across the country, party spokesperson Daniel Molokele said.
“The whole approach speaks to devolution; it is in the spirit of implementing devolution where Harare will not be the centre of holding all our national meetings and programmes,” Molokele told Southern Eye yesterday.
Devolution is provided for under Chapter 14 of the 2013 Constitution with section 268 of the charter providing for the establishment of provincial councils in the country’s provinces.
However, to date, there is no enabling legislation to operationalise devolution despite government last year approving principles of the Provincial Councils and Administration (Amendment) Bill.
Implementation of devolution obligates central government to release funds for provincial budgets to ensure that areas lagging behind in terms of development are prioritised.
Molokele said the MDC sought to set the pace by embracing devolution, a governance system that is viewed as critical in ensuring that provinces get equal dedicated focus on development matters and benefit from their resources among others.
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Molokele said: “It’s part of our new approach in the way we do things, where party programmes will be decentralised to the districts across the country.”
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said his government would also prioritise devolution, but there has been little movement in that regard.
Mnangagwa last week told Zanu PF supporters at the party’s just-ended conference that government planned to decentralise national events as part of devolution.
