By Obert Masaraure
Zimbabwe has endured decades of hyper-centralized governance from Harare that have resulted in profound uneven development, stifled potential, eroded community rights, and sown seeds of conflict. Many a times the centralized State has been forced to resort to coercive apparatus to impose the will of a tiny minority over the majority. The will of the minority has manufactured poverty for the majority, produced inequality and bred resentment towards the State from the majority.
The remedy lies in unleashing the power of our communities, as envisioned by Section 264 of our Constitution. Drawing inspiration from Abdullah Öcalan’s Democratic Confederalism, the remarkable human development of Kerala, India, and the resilient local governance of the Zapatistas in Mexico, we must recognize that devolution is an urgent necessity for a Better Zimbabwe.
The Crisis of Centralization:
• Uneven Development: Harare’s grip has created a nation of stark contrasts. Resources, opportunities, and infrastructure cluster around the capital and a few urban centers, while vast rural areas and marginalized provinces languish in neglect. The Bulawayo Victoria Falls road is a good example of how centralized governance has marginalized other communities. Resource rich Matebeleland North has suffered neglect as wealth is transferred to Harare at the expense of locals. This is the direct result of decisions being made far from the people they impact.
• Centralised Corruption and the Rise of Zvigananda: Centralisation concentrates economic power and state tenders in the hands of a few political elites in Harare. This opaque system, shielded from local scrutiny, creates a perfect breeding ground for corruption. It enables the rise of shadowy networks of politically connected individuals—the Zvigananda—who loot with impunity. They secure lucrative state contracts not through merit, but through patronage, and are virtually unaccountable to the communities they plunder. Their wealth is extracted from the nation and stashed abroad, while local development stalls. Devolution dismantles this by bringing tendering and economic decision-making into the light of local accountability. If the Gwanda community had a say on who was to get the tender for the Gwanda Solar project, Chivayo was never going to get the tender, if he did get it they would have held him accountable.
• Community Disunity and Political Violence: When the state is a distant, centralised patron, survival for communities depends on aligning with partisan power brokers who control access to jobs, food aid, and development. This fractures community unity, pitting neighbour against neighbour as they compete for the attention of different political patrons. This toxic competition for crumbs from the Harare table erodes social cohesion and directly fuels political violence, as communities become battlegrounds for proxy conflicts between national factions. True local governance would shift focus from partisan survival to collective community development. In Guruve, a community recently barred the late Basiyavo, a teacher to be buried next to his father. ZANU PF members receiving instructions from Harare blamed the late for being a member of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, ARTUZ. The locals acted on behalf of Harare patrons.
• Gukurahundi: A Centralized Atrocity: The tragic events of Gukurahundi stand as a horrific monument to the dangers of imposing a monolithic, centralized state power upon a diverse, multi-ethnic nation. When local voices, structures, and sensitivities are ignored or crushed by a distant center pursuing its own agenda, conflict and suffering are inevitable outcomes. Centralization breeds alienation and resentment. Citizens who consistently voted for Dr Joshua Nkomo, should have been allowed to be led by the ZAPU party at a local level. Mugabe’s ZANU PF should never have been allowed to impose their authority on a constituency that had clearly rejected them.
• Displacement and Disregard: The ongoing forced displacement of villagers for mining, agriculture, or infrastructure projects – often without consultation, fair compensation, or viable alternatives – is a direct consequence of centralized decision-making. Harare grants concessions and dictates terms, bypassing the very communities whose lives and livelihoods are destroyed. This is governance without the governed.
• Environmental Plunder: Destructive mining, deforestation, and pollution run rampant because decisions are made in boardrooms and ministries disconnected from the local environment. Communities witnessing the poisoning of their rivers and degradation of their land are powerless to stop it under the current system. Centralized control prioritizes short-term revenue extraction over long-term environmental sustainability and community well-being.
Democratic Confederalism: The Blueprint for Empowerment:
Abdullah Öcalan’s vision of Democratic Confederalism offers a powerful alternative framework. It emphasizes:
• Radical Local Democracy: Decision-making power resides in grassroots communes and councils.
• Confederal Coordination: Communities voluntarily link together for larger-scale projects and mutual defense, preserving local autonomy.
• Gender Liberation & Ecology: Central pillars, ensuring women’s full participation and the protection of the environment as a core principle.
• Multi-Ethnic Coexistence: Rejects the homogenizing nation-state, embracing diversity through direct democracy and local self-determination.
This is the spirit Zimbabwe needs. Section 264 provides the constitutional foundation for this shift. Devolution isn’t just about decentralizing administration; it’s about transferring real political and economic power to provincial and local levels, enabling communities to shape their own destinies and hold their own leaders directly accountable.
Kerala: Proof that Local Power Delivers Development:
Look to Kerala, India. Despite not being the wealthiest Indian state, it consistently boasts the highest Human Development Index (HDI). Why? Decades of genuine devolution and investment in local governance:
• Empowered Local Governments: Significant control over planning, budgeting, and implementation for education, healthcare, and sanitation.
• Community Participation: Active involvement of citizens and civil society in decision-making (e.g., People’s Plan Campaign).
• Investment in Human Capital: Local priorities drove investments in universal education and primary healthcare, accessible to all.
• Result: High literacy rates, low infant mortality, longer life expectancy – proof that empowered communities prioritize and deliver human development.
Zapatistas: The Strength of Autonomous Local Governance:
The Zapatista communities in Chiapas, Mexico, demonstrate the resilience and effectiveness of local self-governance, even under immense pressure. Their model features:
• “Mandar Obedeciendo” (Leading by Obeying): Leaders are directly accountable and recallable by community assemblies.
• Rotating Leadership & Collective Decision-Making: Prevents power concentration and ensures broad participation.
• Community Control Over Resources & Justice: Local solutions for local problems, fostering ownership and legitimacy.
• Result: Stronger social cohesion, effective local problem-solving, and preservation of indigenous culture and environment – demonstrating that local governance works.
Devolution: Zimbabwe’s Engine for Justice and Prosperity:
Implementing true devolution, as mandated by our Constitution and inspired by these models, will transform Zimbabwe:
Job Creation & Value Chain Justice: Local governments, attuned to local resources and needs, can:
• Foster local industries (agro-processing, mining beneficiation, crafts, tourism) creating jobs where people live.
• Ensure fairer value chains by supporting local producers, cooperatives, and SMEs to capture more value from their resources (e.g., community-owned mining ventures, local grain milling).
• Prioritize local procurement for infrastructure and services, circulating wealth within communities and starving the corrupt Zvigananda networks of their fuel.
Environmental Guardianship: Empowered communities are the best defenders of their environment:
• Local consent and oversight over mining and logging would halt destructive practices. Communities invested in their land’s long-term health will demand sustainable methods and rehabilitation.
• Development of localized renewable energy and conservation projects.
• Promotion of sustainable agriculture suited to local ecosystems.
Healing the Wounds & Building Unity: Devolution addresses the root causes of past conflicts and present divisions:
• Recognizes and respects regional and ethnic diversity within a united Zimbabwe.
• Gives all communities a meaningful stake and voice in their governance, reducing marginalization and resentment.
• Replaces the imposed, distant authority—and the partisan competition it breeds—with legitimate, locally accountable leadership, restoring community cohesion.
The Call to Action: Fight for the Better Zimbabwe Agenda!
The promise of Section 264 is not just words on paper; it is the sleeping giant of Zimbabwe’s potential. The failures of centralization are undeniable – the uneven development, the systemic corruption of the Zvigananda, the community disunity and violence, the scars of conflict, the cries of the displaced, the plundered environment. The solutions – transparent governance, job creation, environmental protection, value chain justice, and true unity – are found in devolved power. It is the only path to dismantle the corrupt, centralized machine and build a Zimbabwe where justice, prosperity, and community are not just dreams, but the foundation of our daily lives.
In 2026, we invite all compatriots to demand devolution as a means to achieve a Better Zimbabwe.
Masaraure is The ARTUZ President and writes in his own capacity.
