Constitutional Basis for Metropolitan and Provincial and Local Government Systems in Zimbabwe: Creating a New Political Dispensation

Zimbabwe, which obtained its independence from Great Britain in April, 1980, after a hard liberation struggle, has been since then a unitary state with lower tiers of government being run on acts and directions from central government without a constitutional basis. When a Government of National Unity made up of ruling ZANU (PF) and MDC formations was adopted between 2008 and 2012 as a consequence of inconclusive elections of March and June, 2008, it became apparent that powers and responsibilities had to be devolved to lower tiers of government if meaningful political participation and genuine community development priorities were to take place peacefully and progressively. However, after protracted and sometimes acrimonious debates, political and constitutional consultations resulted in a new Constitution of Zimbabwe Act, 2013 [Amendment No.20 of 2013] which, for the first time in the history of the country, paved way for establishing a three tier system of government, namely, the central government at the top, metropolitan and provincial councils in the middle, and local authorities at the lowest level, thus creating a new vibrant, representative, and democratic political and constitutional dispensation which is the subject of this article.