Democracy and Development in Zimbabwe

The impact of decentralisation on the political process in Zimbabwe is the subject of this study. It is based upon the premise that, to the extent that post-independence decentralisation was primarily intended to facilitate the creation of the one-party, socialist state, it has not resulted in the evolution of meaningful democractic governance in Zimbabwe. The views of both appointed/elected officials at the district and provincial levels, and those of the citizens of the seven districts studied, confirm that both democracy and development have not really been served by the Zimbabwe government’s decentralisation efforts to date. Political apathy during elections, nonchalance, if not outright resistance or hostility towards participation in local government activities, as discussed in the book, are but a few indicators of the general dissatisfaction that the public at the district and lower levels have with the current local government.