It has been noted that prior to the introduction of public procurement reforms, Zimbabwe’s procurement system was centralised, vulnerable to corruption, inefficient and bureaucratic. In 2018, the new decentralized public procurement reforms were introduced to address the shortcomings of the previous procurement regime by giving procurement powers to procuring entities. The aim of this paper is to highlight the implications of the reforms in implementation by rural local authorities in Zimbabwe. This paper adopted a qualitative research design with desktop approach being used to review related literature. The findings reveal that the plethora of reforms are a welcome development in public procurement. It has also been noted that there are many challenges militating against rural local authorities’ propensity to implement the new set of reforms. These challenges affect the ability of rural local authorities to deliver services timeously to communities thereby retarding realization of sustainable development in rural areas in Zimbabwe.

The concept of good corporate governance has gaining traction over the last three decades in the private and public sectors as a response to serious financial scandals and maladministration practices in organisations around the globe. Antidotes provided in previous studies on these corporate failures attributed this to poor board compositions and inadequate separation of power. Whilst this was part of the problem, little effort was put to understand how Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) term limits could also contribute to good governance practice which would make organisations avoid scandals. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore how capping CEOs tenure could enhance good corporate governance in the public and private sectors. This paper is based on a qualitative approach and used content analysis to review data from published records like journal articles. This article posited that capped term limit in both the public and private sectors is ideal as it enhances good corporate governance practice which in turn will make institutions effective and responsive to changes in their operating environment.

In rural Zimbabwe, selling of cattle has for a long time been one of the most dependable sources of income that has sustained livelihoods for decades. Informal cattle marketing which involves door to door or gate sales has been the most predominant system for the last three decades. However, the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic followed by the imposition of lockdowns has exposed the vulnerability of rural communities that are regressing into poverty due to a lack of alternative sources of income. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to delineate how formal cattle markets could be used as a sustainable source of income for rural communities’ livelihoods during and post the COVID-19 pandemic era. This qualitative research study relied on secondary data from published journal articles, online publications, and reports to understand the COVID-19 pandemic and also understand how it has impacted the livelihoods of people in rural Zimbabwe. The findings show that the current informal cattle marketing system is no longer suitable for rural communities as it exposes them to infections due to the challenges in ensuring compliance with the World Health Organisation (WHO) precautionary measures. It is recommended that formal (public) cattle markets be reintroduced in all rural areas as there is the certainty that WHO health guidelines will be enforced since they are organised by local and central government institutions. Since formal cattle markets offer competitive market-related prices this will then guarantee the flow of regular income thereby reducing the vulnerability of rural communities to poverty and inequalities.

Background: Since 2019, the government of Zimbabwe has been making fiscal transfers to local governments as part of fulfilling the constitutional provisions to improve the socio-economic wellbeing of communities. Despite these transfers, there is limited research that establishes whether the funds are achieving the intended results. Objective: The main focus of this paper was to assess progress towards the enhancement of the socio-economic rights of communities in the Mashonaland Central province of Zimbabwe through fiscal decentralization. Method: This paper adopted qualitative methodology and the case study as the design. The Mashonaland Central province was purposively selected as it is one of the regions lagging in terms of development. Data was collected through, documentary analysis and key informant interviews with ten councilors, one Town clerk, nine Chief Executive Officers as well as ten focus group discussions with community members. Findings: The study noted that since the transfer of funds to local authorities started in 2019, significant progress has been achieved in the fulfillment of socio-economic rights. However, local governments were facing challenges such as the unavailability of an administrative manual to guide them in the implementation of fiscal decentralization, lack of clear funds allocation criteria, untimely and unpredictable distribution of funds, price instability, cumbersome procurement processes and lack of a monitoring and evaluation framework. These challenges were negatively affecting the attainment of the desired goals. Conclusions and Recommendations: Fiscal devolution has already started paying dividends in enhancing the socio-economic rights of communities in the Mashonaland Central Province of Zimbabwe in key sectors such as water and sanitation, education, healthcare, infrastructure development, governance and administration, and peace and security. There is a need to develop an administrative manual for implementing fiscal devolution, timely disbursement devolution funds, use of virtual meetings in the wake of the Covid- 19 pandemic, integration of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, and capacity building of local government policymakers and administrators.

Since the attainment of political independence in 1980, Zimbabwe has made tremendous progress in instituting local government reforms such as institutional consolidations, and realignment of legal and policy frameworks. The Local Government Associations are one institution that emerged as the voice articulating policy and legal interests of local authorities through lobbying, representation, and advocacy. However, since 1980, their endeavors in the promotion and advancement of the Zimbabwean local government system have eluded serious scholarly inquiry. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to establish the contributions of the Local Government Associations to the Zimbabwean local governance system. This qualitative study adopted the case study research design and purposive sampling was used to identify respondents from former and current local government practitioners as well as civil society representatives. Primary data was collected through key informant interviews and documentary analysis was used in the collection of secondary data. Thematic analysis was used to make meaning from the themes that emerged from the data. The constitutionalisation of local government in 2013 ranks as the major achievement by the associations. Despite these achievements, the associations are faced with challenges like limited funding, political interference, and failure to conclude the issue of qualifications for councillors. Local Government Associations remain as key players in amplifying the voice of their members on local governance issues. Leadership capacitation is needed for them to remain relevant and effective.