The Effectiveness of European Union Aid on Urban Local Authorities’ Development in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The European Union renewed its formal engagement with Zimbabwe on 1 November 2014 after a 12-year long impasse due to the imposition of the restrictive measures following what was regarded as a breach of article 9(2) of the Cotonou Agreement by Zimbabwe, resulting in the termination of any government-to-government support. The signing of a new partnership through the National Indicative Plan (NIP) 2014 – 2020 between the EU and Zimbabwe under the 11th EDF resuscitated relations and provided support to Local Authorities development. The EU’s support to Zimbabwe and specifically local authorities under the 2014 – 2020 agreements culminated from the improved diplomatic relations between the two international actors, furthermore the ushering in of a new constitution in Zimbabwe which included arrangements for devolved governance attracted the EU’s support to LAs. Other factors which influenced the EU to support LAs include the need to support LAs on issues relating to climate change and disaster management, further issues of health invited the EU to support LAs through supporting areas such as the COVID-19 pandemic and assisting rural districts to construct maternity waiting rooms in remote parts where pregnant women had to travel long distances for prenatal care. Issues of misgovernance and corruption in LAs have also contributed to the interest of development aid support from the EU to LAs, lastly the competition of the EU and China forced the EU to reignite its presence in development aid to Zimbabwe in 2014, this was a counter approach as China’s presence was being felt in LA development through health and infrastructure projects. The EU development aid, proved to be effective, through the support, local authorities managed to enhance their capacity in service delivery, improve revenue collection efficiency, development of compliant budgets, development of accounting manuals which contribute to better financial reporting and policy development. The EU development aid which was provided as project aid through multi-lateral support was minimal in its depth but effective in developing local authorities, in some areas which were neglected for decades. Whilst this study appreciates the effectiveness of the EU aid, areas such as financial reporting remained weak even after the EU development aid interventions, this was mostly due to short implementation spans of the projects, lack of proper monitoring and weak institutional uptake of interventions by some LAs. The EU development aid to LAs can be improved through inclusive planning of interventions with the LAs to identify the priority areas to support and strategies to employ, further enhanced relations between Zimbabwe and the EU with LAs as a stakeholder will ensure the EU aid is more effective to the development of local authorities, the government of Zimbabwe has to create an environment for devolved governance to strengthen LAs and support them to manage on their own without relying of development aid for areas such as capacity development and development of operating manuals.