IS DEVOLUTION THE ANSWER TO MATABELELAND'S MAGINALISATION?

Devolution of power is a system of governance in which a once centralised political – economic structure of governance transfers these powers to local government, that is to provincial and municipal structures. It is essentially a delegation of  some functions from a central sovereign government to the local government. Thus is this the true answer to the woes of Matabeleland?

Devolution of power is currently enshrined in the constitution following a resounding yes vote in the referendum conducted in Zimbabwe in 2013 prior to the harmonised elections. In the constitutional outreach programme people in the 10 provinces of Zimbabwe are reported to have preferred devolution of power to be adopted as a national system of governance showing that a larger proportion of the national population is essentially ‘fed up’ with a centralised form of governance. Based on this evidence one can argue that Matabeleland is not the only region that is marginalised but within that argument there is confirmation that the Matabeleland region is inclusive of the marginalised areas of Zimbabwe and a larger proportion of its population believes so.

However, political parties that have been lobbying for the implementation of devolution of power by virtue of their geographical location in Bulawayo, have been criticised for being regional. This is despite the COPAC findings that people nationally declared they want devolution of power to be adopted as a system of governance. 

Thus having noted this, will this degeneration of responsibilities add to the betterment of the other regions particularly Matabeleland?. To take this to account one will have to note the resources and personell available in the region, for instance the region has a vast tourism resource base with a world heritage site such as Victoria falls in it, which annually brings millions in revenue from tourism as well as the Hwange national game park and Matopo hills. Furthermore there are vast timber resources in Matabeleland north, gold in Matabeleland south, cement productions with vast sources of granite in Bulawayo province and Matabeleland south respectively as well as railway and cattle ranching business potential in the region.

The focus on these sources of revenue through devolution can provide more jobs for people in the region and  at the same time contribute to the national GDP which will further see the advancement of not only Matabeleland but Zimbabwe as a whole as well.