BULAWAYO, Jul 23, (Southern Eye LIVE) -The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local Government, Public Works and National Housing has recommended the establishment of a commission of inquiry to resolve long-standing governance challenges in Hwange Concession, where thousands of residents remain under two different local authorities.
Presenting the committee's report in Parliament, committee chairperson Maxmore Njanji said "the current arrangement has created a governance anomaly in which residents are administered by Hwange Rural District Council while being politically represented by councillors serving under the Hwange Local Board."
He said the "dual governance structure has curtailed residents' participation in local governance, limited access to government development funding and hampered coordinated urban planning and service delivery."
The committee found that the Hwange Local Board supports the incorporation of the concession area into a single urban authority in order to facilitate orderly planning, improve service delivery and promote integrated urban development.
However, the report noted that Hwange Rural District Council and Hwange Colliery Company Limited expressed reservations over the proposal.
Their concerns include potential loss of revenue, the protection of constitutional property rights and the need for compensation should incorporation proceed.
To break the deadlock, the committee recommended that the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works establish a commission of inquiry to assess the feasibility of placing Hwange Urban under one local authority.
The inquiry would, in consultation with the stakeholders, examine the legal, administrative and financial implications of the proposal.
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The committee also urged the government to review inconsistencies between the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission's delimitation boundaries and local government administrative boundaries.
It further recommended strengthening of the institutional and technical capacity of the Hwange Local Board before any transition, and ensuring that Hwange Colliery Company receives fair compensation for any affected assets in accordance with Section 71 of the Constitution.
Njanji said the committee believes that a carefully planned transition, backed by stakeholder consensus and a clear implementation framework, would improve service delivery, expand access to national development funding, encourage orderly urban growth and strengthen Hwange's prospects of attaining municipality status.
Youth in Hwange have petitioned Parliament over the same issue.
