Looking Beyond Political Qualifications of Councillors in Managing Urban Councils of Zimbabwe

Abstract

The urban areas in developing countries are rapidly developing and the situation is punctuated by a number of major problems that range from lack of provision of clean water, good roads, housing, sewer drainage and reticulation systems, good storm drains, street lights and solid waste management systems. This situation demands for councillors with high academic and professional qualifications who could comprehensively understand urban problems and developmental needs. The current problem in Zimbabwe is that urban councils have highly educated and qualified employees and semi-literate or illiterate creating an abnormal situation that is tantamount to bringing mismanagement of all sorts in these institutions. Councillors are peoples’ representatives and policy makers who at the same time are supposed to supervise the activities of the employees. The objectives of the research were to articulate from the Urban Councils Act the qualifications required of councillors to hold public office. Councillor qualifications influence the way urban councils are administered. From a total population of 139 that included 99 councillors a sample of 48 respondents was chosen from Harare, Bulawayo, Mutare and Bindura. Employees were involved for comparative and triangulation purposes only. The results indicated that individuals elected as councillors have very low academic and professional qualifications. Some of the councillor do not even have O-Levels and are semi-literate. It was also found out that employees have better opportunities for further training than councillors. However, the respondents were of the opinion that the councillors need have diplomas and degrees to function effectively and efficiently in the current complex urban environment. The recommendations included the need to encourage political parties to choose candidates for election as councillors who have higher qualifications, the need to amend the current Urban Councils Act and go beyond political demands and demand higher academic and professional qualifications, the need for councils to have a systematic training programme to use as a tool to improve the qualifications of those councillors who enter the system with basic required qualifications and to encourage political parties to training their candidates or representatives so that they are able to articulate the parties agendas when they are engaged in council businesses.