By Shepherd Shalvar Chikomba
ZNOART National Chairman
Zimbabwe’s local authorities are facing serious challenges in the provision of basic services to residents. Across many cities, municipalities and towns, residents continue to experience problems relating to waste collection, water supply, sewerage, environmental management, roads, public health, housing development and other essential services.
Local authorities have a constitutional and statutory responsibility to provide services to the communities they serve. However, persistent financial, technical, operational and infrastructure challenges have affected their ability to consistently meet the needs and expectations of residents.
One of the major challenges is that urban populations have continued to grow, largely driven by rural-to-urban migration and natural population growth, while infrastructure development has not always kept pace with the expanding population.
In many cases, infrastructure designed to serve smaller populations is now expected to serve significantly larger communities. Water systems, sewer networks, roads, waste-management facilities, housing, public transport infrastructure and other public amenities require expansion, rehabilitation and modernisation.
It is against this background that there is a need for Government, local authorities, the private sector and residents to explore practical and sustainable Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) as one mechanism for improving local authority service delivery.
Government Intervention and the Protection of Residents
Residents should not be left to suffer indefinitely because a local authority lacks the financial or technical capacity to provide essential services.
Government has an important role to play in ensuring that citizens have access to safe water, a clean environment, functional sanitation systems, housing and other basic services.
Where local authorities are struggling, Government intervention can help mobilise resources, strengthen oversight, facilitate investment, support infrastructure development and ensure that urgent public-health and environmental risks are addressed.
Government intervention does not necessarily mean replacing local authorities. It can involve strengthening local authorities through appropriate partnerships, financing models, technical support, regulation, capacity-building and accountability mechanisms.
The objective should be simple:
Residents must receive reliable, affordable and sustainable services.
The Role of Public-Private Partnerships
A Public-Private Partnership allows Government or a local authority to work with a private-sector partner to deliver infrastructure, facilities or services under a defined contractual arrangement.
When properly designed, transparently procured and effectively monitored, PPPs can bring additional capital, technology, technical expertise, innovation and operational efficiency into sectors where local authorities may face capacity constraints.
One important PPP model is Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT).
Under a BOT arrangement, a private partner can finance and construct infrastructure, operate it for an agreed period under defined conditions, and subsequently transfer the facility or agreed rights back to the public authority.
Such arrangements can allow local authorities to access investment and expertise while reducing the immediate financial burden on councils.
Potential areas for PPPs include:
Waste collection and recycling;
Landfill development and management;
Water treatment and distribution;
Sewerage infrastructure;
Road construction and maintenance;
Street lighting;
Public transport infrastructure;
Markets and bus termini;
Housing and infrastructure development;
Renewable-energy projects; and
Modern municipal technology and service-delivery systems.
However, PPPs must not simply be viewed as commercial opportunities.
They must be designed around service quality, affordability, accessibility, accountability, sustainability and the public interest.
Residents must remain at the centre of every partnership.
Waste and Environmental Management
Waste management has become one of the most visible service-delivery challenges in many urban communities.
Poor waste collection can result in illegal dumping, blocked drainage systems, environmental pollution, unpleasant living conditions and increased public-health risks.
Local authorities need modern waste-management systems that go beyond simply collecting refuse and transporting it to dumpsites.
Zimbabwe should increasingly embrace:
Reduce → Reuse → Recycle → Recover → Responsible Disposal.
Private companies can bring investment into waste-collection fleets, recycling facilities, waste sorting, composting, landfill management and waste-to-energy initiatives.
PPPs can also assist local authorities to develop modern, properly engineered waste-management facilities rather than relying indefinitely on overcrowded and poorly managed dumpsites.
At the same time, local authorities must retain strong regulatory oversight to ensure that private operators meet environmental, contractual and service standards.
Environmental protection must remain a shared responsibility involving Government, local authorities, private operators, communities and residents.
The Public-Health Consequences of Poor Service Delivery
Waste and environmental management are not merely aesthetic issues. They are public-health matters.
Accumulated refuse, overflowing sewage, contaminated water sources, blocked drains and poorly managed dumpsites can expose communities to environmental and health risks.
This is why service delivery must be treated as a national development priority.
A resident should not have to choose between paying rates and living in an unhealthy environment.
Local authorities must demonstrate that residents’ contributions are being converted into visible and measurable services.
Where there are persistent failures, there must be mechanisms for intervention, performance monitoring and accountability.
Water: A Fundamental Service
Water remains one of the most important responsibilities facing local authorities.
Residents need reliable access to safe, affordable and adequate water for drinking, cooking, sanitation and other household requirements.
Residents should also be able to pay for the water they actually consume rather than being subjected to inaccurate or estimated bills.
Zimbabwe’s urban water infrastructure faces challenges associated with ageing infrastructure, inadequate investment, leakages, population growth, non-payment and operational constraints.
In some communities, infrastructure originally designed for much smaller populations is now under significant pressure.
Local authorities therefore need to rehabilitate existing infrastructure while simultaneously expanding water-treatment capacity, storage facilities, distribution networks and sewerage systems to match current and future populations.
This requires a combination of infrastructure rehabilitation, new investment, better revenue collection, improved maintenance, responsible water consumption and modern technology.
Prepaid Smart Water Meters
One potential intervention that deserves serious consideration is the introduction of prepaid smart water meters, where appropriate and subject to proper regulatory, consumer-protection and affordability arrangements.
The objective should be to move towards a system where residents can monitor and pay for their actual water consumption while local authorities obtain better data and improve revenue management.
Prepaid smart meters can potentially provide several advantages:
1. Improved Revenue Collection
Prepayment can reduce the accumulation of unpaid water bills and provide local authorities with revenue that can be used to maintain and improve water infrastructure.
2. Payment for Actual Consumption
Smart metering can help move residents away from estimated billing towards payment based on measured consumption.
Residents should know how much water they have consumed and what they are being charged for.
3. Better Consumption Management
Smart meters can enable households and businesses to monitor their consumption and encourage more responsible use of water.
4. Identification of Water Losses
Modern metering systems can help identify unusual consumption patterns, possible leakages and other forms of water loss.
5. Greater Transparency
A properly designed system can allow residents to see their consumption and remaining credit, potentially reducing disputes associated with estimated or inaccurate billing.
6. Better Planning
Accurate consumption data can assist local authorities in planning water production, distribution, infrastructure investment and future demand.
7. Improved Accountability
Reliable data can make it easier for both residents and local authorities to understand consumption patterns, revenue collection and system performance.
However, prepaid water meters must not become a mechanism for excluding vulnerable residents from access to basic water.
There must be clear consumer-protection measures, transparent tariffs, mechanisms for dealing with faulty meters, accessible complaint-resolution systems and appropriate provisions for vulnerable households.
Access to safe water is too important to be treated purely as a commercial transaction.
PPPs Must Be Transparent and Accountable
While PPPs can provide opportunities, they also require strong safeguards.
Residents have a right to know:
Who has been awarded a contract;
What services the private company is required to provide;
How much the project will cost;
How tariffs and charges are determined;
How long the agreement will run;
What performance standards apply;
What penalties exist for poor performance;
What happens when the contract expires; and
How residents can lodge complaints.
Local authorities must avoid entering into agreements that create long-term financial burdens without corresponding improvements in service delivery.
Procurement must be transparent, competitive and compliant with the law.
PPP agreements should also contain clear performance indicators and mechanisms for monitoring service quality.
Residents Must Have a Voice
ZNOART believes residents should not be passive recipients of local authority services.
Residents are ratepayers, property owners, tenants, businesses and members of communities. They therefore have a legitimate interest in how public services are planned, financed and delivered.
Community consultation should be incorporated into major PPP projects, particularly those involving water, waste management, markets, transport infrastructure, housing and other essential services.
Residents should also be given measurable service standards against which local authorities and their private-sector partners can be assessed.
A New Model of Local Governance
Zimbabwe needs to move towards a model of local governance based on partnership, performance and accountability.
Government should provide strategic leadership, policy direction and oversight.
Local authorities should remain accountable for the services provided within their jurisdictions.
The private sector should bring investment, technology, innovation and operational expertise.
Residents should participate through consultation, monitoring, reporting and constructive engagement.
No single stakeholder can solve Zimbabwe’s local-government challenges alone.
ZNOART’s Position
The Zimbabwe National Organisation of Associations and Residents Trust (ZNOART) is an apex body representing residents and residents’ associations across Zimbabwe.
Our focus and thrust are centred on:
Service delivery;
Community development;
Infrastructure development;
Environment and waste management;
Healthcare;
Gender and social welfare;
Transparency and accountability; and
Drug and substance-abuse prevention and awareness.
Our position is that residents must be at the centre of local development.
We support constructive partnerships between Government, local authorities, the private sector and communities where such partnerships produce measurable improvements in service delivery and protect the public interest.
We also believe that local authorities must be held accountable for the services they are mandated to provide, while Government must intervene where there are systemic failures that threaten public health, environmental protection, infrastructure and the welfare of residents.
Conclusion
The challenges facing local authorities require practical solutions rather than endless blame.
Public-Private Partnerships, when properly structured, transparently procured and effectively monitored, can provide an important mechanism for improving waste management, environmental protection, water supply, housing, infrastructure and other essential services.
But PPPs should never become a substitute for accountability.
The ultimate measure of any partnership must be whether it delivers cleaner communities, safer environments, reliable water, better infrastructure and improved quality of life for residents.
ZNOART therefore calls for stronger cooperation between Government, local authorities, the private sector and residents to develop sustainable service-delivery models that respond to the realities facing communities across Zimbabwe.
The growth of our urban populations requires us to think beyond the infrastructure of yesterday and build systems capable of serving the populations of today and tomorrow.
The local authority of the future must be service-driven, accountable, technologically enabled and resident-centred.
Better services are not a luxury. They are fundamental to building sustainable communities and achieving national development.