Apathy undermines fight for better service delivery

For the past 15 years and more, local authorities have struggled to provide water, clear refuse and ensure access to affordable health delivery, while the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) has failed to provide a steady supply of power.

As a result, cities and towns throughout the country have resigned themselves to long dry periods and frequent power cuts, spawning disease outbreaks such as the 2008 cholera epidemic that killed more than 4,000 people and frequent diarrhoea and typhoid cases.

The majority of low, medium and high income suburbs alike go for weeks without power, resulting in residents resorting to solar power or imported generators to light their homes, while many cook on wood fires in their gardens.

Basic rights

This is despite the fact that the new constitution clearly provides for basic citizens’ rights relating to municipal services. Sections 73 to 77 of the constitution state that citizens must have the right to food and water, health care, education, environmental resources and freedom from arbitrary eviction, which municipalities must also ensure.

Marvelous Khumalo who heads the Chitungwiza Residents Association (Chitrest) told The Zimbabwean that one of the biggest hurdles they were facing was apathy.

“The very people who we are fighting on behalf of still lack the culture of participating in interventions that are meant to promote their civic rights as defined by the constitution,” said Khumalo.

“When you look at it closely, the residents are not exactly to blame. Given the state of the economy, they are preoccupied with the daily struggle to earn income for themselves and their families. Attending meetings or participating in civic campaigns therefore becomes a secondary matter.”

Unemployment

Due to high unemployment levels, the majority of Zimbabweans are now engaged in informal trade that includes cross-border trips, vending and small unregistered businesses.

Unemployment is independently estimated at more than 80 percent. Even the 2012 Zimbabwe Statistical Agency (Zimstat) report says it stands at 11 percent. Government says more than $7 billion is circulating in the informal sector.

“There is need for us as residents’ representatives and civil society to spread the gospel to the people that they must be involved in matters that affect them. There is a culture of resignation among residents and citizens, but this must change,” said Khumalo.

He said people were generally unaware of their rights as citizens and “that has killed the spirit of activism”.

Culture of apathy

Independent economist and former chief executive officer of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC), Innocent Makwiramiti, the economy was driving the culture of apathy.

“Most people are so immersed in the immediate problems caused by a poorly performing economy. It is the economy that has to a large extent resulted in poor service delivery. Ironically, the same economic crisis is now militating against the fight to right the situation,” he said.

Makwiramiti said there was need to address macro-economic fundamentals in order to bring back sanity to service delivery, adding that rampant corruption and incompetence in government and local authorities were also to blame for the current situation.

He said government had the constitutional duty to fund the lobby for civic rights, but bemoaned that it might take a long time before that could be done.

“It is sad that almost everyone has come to accept that the current abnormality as the norm. There is a whole generation that has grown up in this crisis and it would be difficult to convince them that things can really change for the better.

“This has the added disadvantage that if this generation grows up to run municipal affairs, nothing much would be expected from them as they have been socialised into a crisis,” he added.

Khumalo said besides public apathy, residents’ associations were viewed with suspicion by government and municipal secretariats, making their work difficult.