ABSTRACT
Perhaps not surprisingly, the developmental burden which has been placed on the idea of
decentralisation has been too great for it to bear. Third world states find much promise in
decentralisation. The performance of decentralised government all too often falls
disappointingly short of these expectations. (Smith, 1985:185)
The adoption of decentralisation as an option for development in post-colonial Zimbabwe
became an immediate option for national development. Emphasis was placed much on
decentralised development planning as informed by decentralisation models borrowed from
other socialist-leaning countries such as Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia and Botswana. However,
little focus was directed towards its impact on local decision making and development
planning as central government retained vertical structures of government which are
incompatible with the objectives of decentralisation.
The research is an analysis of the level of the Zimbabwean central government interference
into urban council’s development management processes. It indicates the government’s
propensity to recentralize (Oyono, 2004).It will examine the impact of the forces behind
decentralisation on planning and implementation of development interventions in Harare
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urban area of Zimbabwe. The impact of such challenges within the City of Harare will be
assessed.
The study comes from a background in which decentralisation has been hailed as perhaps the
boldest new policy initiative in recent times on the appropriate path which independent
African states are taking towards long term development in local communities
(Kamete,2006). Decentralized development planning was introduced within the context of
barely disguised admission of failure of socialistic centralized state planning in the post
independent Zimbabwe; it appears to offer a new basis for some hope that local urban
councils may yet be able to rediscover the path to sustainable development (Oyono, 2004).
This is more so as decentralized development planning is presented not only as initiative that
advocates for a departure for effective utilization of resources but also as measure driven in
content and direction on apparent departure from non-participation of local communities in
local development planning issues(BALA,2010). It is therefore for this reason that
decentralised urban management is expected to strengthen the prospects for the achievement
of the goals for sustainable development and yet the blue-print for decentralized urban
management reflects many of assumptions that are underpinned by the neo- liberal economic,
social and political reform agenda, in Zimbabwe. The coincidence of diagnosis and
prescription within the assumptions of decentralized urban management set an important
initiative to analyze the forces involved in Harare’s development management. This is
important to understand the economic content and direction of the policy practice of
decentralized development management in Harare, particularly when considering that
decentralized development management is a significant departure from traditional public
administration (Goodman, 1998).
Franklin, E. (2021). The Dynamics Of Decentralisation On Development Planning In Urban Local Authorities. A Case Study Of Harare City Council. Afribary. Retrieved from https://tracking.afribary.com/works/the-dynamics-of-decentralisation-on-development-planning-in-urban-local-authorities-a-case-study-of-harare-city-council
Franklin, Eze "The Dynamics Of Decentralisation On Development Planning In Urban Local Authorities. A Case Study Of Harare City Council" Afribary. Afribary, 01 May. 2021, https://tracking.afribary.com/works/the-dynamics-of-decentralisation-on-development-planning-in-urban-local-authorities-a-case-study-of-harare-city-council. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
Franklin, Eze . "The Dynamics Of Decentralisation On Development Planning In Urban Local Authorities. A Case Study Of Harare City Council". Afribary, Afribary, 01 May. 2021. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. < https://tracking.afribary.com/works/the-dynamics-of-decentralisation-on-development-planning-in-urban-local-authorities-a-case-study-of-harare-city-council >.
Franklin, Eze . "The Dynamics Of Decentralisation On Development Planning In Urban Local Authorities. A Case Study Of Harare City Council" Afribary (2021). Accessed December 23, 2024. https://tracking.afribary.com/works/the-dynamics-of-decentralisation-on-development-planning-in-urban-local-authorities-a-case-study-of-harare-city-council