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Minister Chombo

Zvamaida Murwira Senior Reporter
ALL heads of cities, towns and rural district councils will, with effect from next year, be on performance-based contracts as part of Government measures to enhance service delivery to ratepayers and citizens, a Cabinet Minister has said.
Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister, Ignatius Chombo said town clerks and chief executive officers for rural district councils would be the first to be on the performance-based contracts and that these would cascade later to the lower tier of employees.

Minister Chombo said this in a speech read on his behalf by his deputy Cde Joel Biggie Matiza during a pre-budget seminar in Victoria Falls at the weekend.

The shift to contracts was mooted after reckoning that management systems in local authorities needed to be revamped to enhance effectiveness and realise the aspirations of the citizenry as most residents had lost confidence in local Government institutions.
“Realising the afore-cited challenge, the Ministry is working with the Office of the President and Cabinet to introduce and roll out the integrated results-based management into all local authorities,” said Cde Chombo.

“So far, the said system has been introduced to 16 local authorities on a pilot project basis and the same will be rolled out to the rest of councils in 2014.

“Noteworthy in this regard is that with effect from January 2014, all chief executive officers and town clerks will be put on performance based contracts. The same approach will be progressively cascaded to lower echelons of the council bureaucracy.”

Turning to legislative reform, Minister Chombo said the architecture of local government was characterised by a plethora of legislation that was fragmented, misaligned and incapable of addressing contemporary governance and management issues.

“Given that scenario, the Ministry has put in motion a process to reform key local government legislation with the view to provide a coherent and consistent legislative framework that strengthens local authorities and at the same time protects both residents and national interests,” said Minister Chombo.

The Ministry was already working on amendments to the Provincial Councils and Administration Act, Traditional Leaders Act, Rural District Councils Act and Urban Councils Act.

After his presentation legislators wanted to know if the Ministry could not help them secure residential stands, particularly those whose constituencies were outside Harare.

Makoni South MP Cde Mandi Chimene (Zanu-PF) said Government should consider giving them houses because some of them might not want to stay in hotels when they come to Harare for parliamentary sessions.

Deputy Minister Matiza said they had no problem in securing residential stands for legislators.
“We can give MPs stands so that they build their own houses,” he said.

Deputy Minister Matiza said in the proposed new Parliament Building plan, there was a VIP villa which legislators would use for their accommodation.