HARARE – Lawyers have been enlisted to challenge a controversial government directive on all mayors and chairpersons to attend a three-day training seminar on “Zanu PF ideology” at the highly partisan Chitepo School of Ideology.
In a letter, the Secretary for Local Government and Public Works K Ncube invited mayors and chairpersons to attend the training which has been set for Rainbow Towers from 21 to 23 August 2024.
Ncube cited Section 5 of the Constitution saying local authorities are a “third tier of government with devolved service delivery mandates” and were “engines towards the attainment of vision 2030” set by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
“In this regard,” Ncube wrote in his directive, “it is pertinent for Local Authorities to be exposed to the ideals of national security and patriotism as espoused by the Chitepo School of Ideology.”
According to the training programme seen by ZimLive, the mayors are set to be overdosed on “the ideology of Zanu PF and Zimbabwe”, a lecture set to last nearly four hours on Wednesday.
But the directive has touched a raw nerve among some sections of the local governance system which are headed by opposition mayors.
The firebrand Chitungwiza Residents Trust (CHITREST) stood to bell the cat through hiring lawyers to challenge the directive which they argued was a violation of the national constitution.
“Our client finds that the above training offends several provisions of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and amounts to a grave violation of the constitutional rights to impartial and non-partisan administrative conduct and the freedom of assembly and association,” lawyers wrote to Ncube.
“The Permanent Secretary, as an employee of the government cannot convene and fund a training/meeting on behalf of a political party.
“This is contrary to the principles of impartiality and non-partisanship expected of members of the Civil Service as espoused under 200 (3)(a)(b) of the Constitution.
“As such, the conduct of convening a meeting on behalf of a political party infringes on the right to non-partisan and impartial administrative conduct.
“Section 68(1) of the Constitution states that ‘every person has a right to administrative conduct that is lawful, prompt, efficient, reasonable, proportionate, impartial and both substantively and procedurally fair’.”
The residents’ group further said through its lawyers that, “the training is a tool to further the political objectives of Zanu PF through the office established for civil service”.
Lawyers argued the conduct also offends provisions of the Constitution governing the conduct of civil servants stating that they must be impartial and non-partisan in the discharge of their duties.
Added the lawyers, “…by demanding the presence of all mayors and chairpersons at the training, the Secretaries’ conduct offends the constitutional right of freedom of association and assembly under section 58(2) of the Constitution”.
“It is our client’s understanding that councils are currently constituted by leadership from different political parties.
“The contents of the letter are tantamount to forcing members, especially of different political parties to attend an event that furthers the ideology of a single political party, Zanu PF at the exclusion of others.
“Section 58(2) of the Constitution states that “No person may be compelled to belong to an association or to attend a meeting or gathering”.
Lawyers demanded the revocation of the directive and the cancellation of the planned training.
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