Mnangagwa's office warns line ministries

The Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) has issued a stern warning to senior Government officials and line ministries who are reportedly undermining the constitutional mandate of local authorities by interfering with public procurement processes.

Speaking at the just-ended Public Procurement and Governance Conference for Local Authorities in Bulawayo, Permanent Secretary for Presidential Affairs and Devolution, Engineer Tafadzwa Muguti, expressed concern over a growing trend of central government actors bypassing the authority of municipalities and rural district councils.

"The Office of the President and Cabinet has started noticing a trend where certain line ministries are now overtaking local authorities and undertaking procurement directly," said Eng Muguti. "Let me assure you all that this will not end well. Let’s respect that we have three tiers of governance in this country, as in our Constitution. Let’s respect each other and respect the law."

Eng Muguti warned that it was unethical and unlawful for senior officials to impose preferred contractors on councils, calling it a misuse of power.

"It doesn’t matter the title you hold, the law applies to everyone. Let’s stop abusing our offices as the central government. Let’s allow local authorities to do what they were elected to do - govern their jurisdictions," he said.

The Permanent Secretary emphasised that procurement decisions are the legal responsibility of accounting officers within local authorities, in line with the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act.

"There is rampant corruption happening across the country around public procurement processes," Muguti added. "Failure to follow procedures such as competitive bidding and adequate record-keeping has resulted in legal challenges that drain public resources and damage the credibility of local governance."

Local authority leaders echoed his concerns, urging clearer collaboration rather than power struggles between the different levels of government.

City of Harare Mayor, Councillor Jacob Mafume, said there was need for complementarity among the governance tiers, not competition.

"The three tiers of governance cannot exist without each other. Any involvement must be complementary," said Cllr Mafume. "There is a thin line between interference and support. We need to allow the third tier, local authorities, to tailor their needs while leveraging the Central Government’s capacity for bulk procurement where appropriate."

Wedza Rural District Council chairperson, Mrs Sheila Mugabe, said RDCs are guided by their own resolutions and ministry circulars, adding that interference from the Central Government was unwarranted.

"Local authority resolutions are binding laws at our level," she said. "As RDC chairs, we are committed to President Mnangagwa’s ‘Call to Action and No Compromise on Service Delivery’. That’s our focus - improving services without unnecessary interference."

The conference, hosted by the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ), aimed to improve compliance, transparency, and efficiency in procurement practices among local authorities. It also addressed ongoing court cases that have exposed serious procurement irregularities across several councils.

"The legal repercussions from these cases are a warning to us all," Eng Muguti said. "By ensuring compliance, local authorities can reduce risks associated with corruption and inefficiency, ultimately improving service delivery."

As decentralisation remains central to the government's devolution agenda, the OPC's warning marks a renewed push to ensure that local authorities operate independently and within the law - and that central government respects their constitutional mandate.