Various, Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs
Various, Provincial Council Chairpersons
Minister of State for Provincial Affairs are ministers responsible for the administrative and political structures overseeing the country's ten provinces, who serve as an intermediate layer between the national government and local authorities. Established post-independence in 1980, this system has evolved from a highly centralized model under the Lancaster House Constitution to a framework emphasizing devolution following the 2013 Constitution. Prior to 2013, Provincial Governors acted as presidential appointees coordinating central government interests at the provincial level.[1] After the constitutional reforms, the role shifted toward Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs, though implementation has retained elements of central control despite devolution principles.[2]
Zimbabwe's provincial structure originated from the 1980 Lancaster House Constitution, which divided the country into eight provinces (later expanded to ten, including Harare and Bulawayo in 2004).[3] This framework was shaped by post-colonial decentralization efforts outlined in the Prime Minister’s Directives on Decentralization and Development (PMDDs) of 1984 and 1985, codified in the Provincial Councils and Administration Act [Chapter 29:11].[4] These reforms aimed to deracialize local governance, promote participation, and coordinate development, but resulted in deconcentration—transferring administrative tasks without granting autonomy—rather than true devolution.[5]
By the late 2000s, amid economic decline and political tensions, the Global Political Agreement (GPA) of 2008 initiated a constitutional review process.[6] The resulting 2013 Constitution, adopted via referendum, enshrined devolution as a core principle in Section 3(2)(l), mandating the transfer of powers to provincial and local governments while safeguarding national unity.[7] Chapter 14 formalized Provincial Councils as elected bodies, replacing appointed governors with party-selected chairpersons.[8] However, practical implementation has been gradual, with the government appointing Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs to bridge central and provincial functions, leading to ongoing debates about centralization versus decentralization.[9]
Role and functions before 2013
Under the pre-2013 system, Provincial Governors (PGs) were the political heads of provinces, appointed directly by the President for renewable terms of up to two years.[10] Eligible candidates were Zimbabwean citizens qualified for parliamentary membership, with appointments often aligning with the ruling ZANU–PF party since 1985.[5] PGs held cabinet rank, serving as resident ministers and ex-officio members of Parliament (with voting rights in one house), enabling them to represent provincial interests nationally.[5]
The primary functions of PGs, as defined in Section 10 of the Provincial Councils and Administration Act, were coordinative and supervisory rather than executive.[11] They chaired Provincial Councils (PCs)—corporate bodies comprising mayors, councilors, chiefs, and presidential appointees—and facilitated joint meetings with Provincial Development Committees (PDCs), which consolidated local plans into provincial strategies aligned with national priorities.[5] Key duties included:
Coordinating development planning and implementation across central ministries, local authorities, private sector, and civil society.[5]
Supervising Urban Councils (UCs) and Rural District Councils (RDCs) to ensure compliance with central policies.[5]
Promoting stakeholder relations, advising development partners, and performing ceremonial roles such as representing the province at national events.[5]
Facilitating idea exchange between PDCs and local authorities for aligned programming.[5]
PGs reported directly to the President, not local communities, positioning them as extensions of central authority.[10] This structure fostered role overlaps with Provincial Administrators (PAs)—senior civil servants under the Ministry of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development (MLGRUD)—who chaired PDCs and handled technical coordination.[5] Critics highlighted PGs' lack of independent budgets, revenue-raising powers, or enforcement authority, rendering them ineffective for decentralization.[5] Partisan appointments exacerbated tensions, particularly in opposition-led councils, leading to ministerial interventions and mistrust.[5]
Provinces like Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South faced marginalization, with PGs prioritizing central agendas over local needs, contributing to uneven service delivery.[10]
Role and functions after 2013
The 2013 Constitution marked a shift toward devolution, abolishing the PG position in favor of Provincial Council chairpersons elected indirectly from councilors or selected by the party holding the most National Assembly seats in the province (Section 272).[12] For metropolitan provinces (Harare and Bulawayo), mayoral elections were deferred to parliamentary legislation.[10] This aimed to enhance local accountability and representation, with PCs gaining roles in policy formulation, plan consolidation, and evaluation under Chapter 14.[13]
In practice, however, the government retained a central oversight mechanism through Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs, appointed by the President and assigned to each province.[9] These ministers function as links between the Office of the President and Cabinet and provincial structures, without explicit constitutional provision.[9] A Bill was introduced in 2021 to align the law to the 2013 Consitution, and listed the functions of the Minister of state and devolution as being:
facilitate co-ordination between central and local government to ensure that national development goals are realised; foster synergistic relationships between the national planning agenda and project and programme implementation at local level;
monitor and evaluate effective and efficient implementation of government programmes and projects in the provinces to ensure attainment of national aspirations and objectives;
facilitate implementation of government interventions, such as community ownership trusts and employee ownership schemes leveraging on resources comparative advantages in the provinces;
preside over all state occasions and functions in the province as well as state visits by dignitaries to the province; and report to the President as appropriate.” [14]
The Bill, however, has not yet been passed into law.
Post-2013 cabinets, such as those under Presidents Robert Mugabe and Emmerson Mnangagwa, have included these ministers, who chair PCs and mediate between national policies and local implementation.[10][9] Reforms have been critiqued for slow progress: no enabling legislation has fully devolved powers, and central funding dependencies persist, blending devolution rhetoric with deconcentration realities.[citation needed]
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